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Syracuse returned to the court one week after losing to Virginia Tech, where the Orange limited VT’s 3-pointers but couldn’t convert on offense.

On Saturday, Syracuse (14-12, 8-7 Atlantic Coast) defeated Boston College (9-16, 4-11 ACC) 76-56. The Orange topped the Eagles two weeks ago in Boston where starting center Jesse Edwards was lost for the season. In SU’s win at the Carrier Dome, Bourama Sidibe logged a season-high 18 minutes as he and the defense powered Syracuse to a fourth straight home win. 

Here are three observations from Syracuse’s 76-56 win over Boston College:

Boston College struggles from deep

The last time Syracuse played Boston College, head coach Jim Boeheim said postgame that if the Eagles had hit just a few more 3-pointers, they may have had enough to pull off a comeback win. But in that game, BC shot 1-for-15 in the first half and 6-for-28 overall. Brevin Galloway in particular struggled as he shot 1-for-12 from beyond the arc.

Saturday, it was more of the same as the Eagles finished the first half 1-for-14. BC entered the game as the worst 3-point shooting team in the ACC, shooting 28%. The Eagles began the game missing seven consecutive 3s, until Jaeden Zackery hit their first 3-pointer nearly 10 minutes into the first half.

Later, the Eagles tried to piece together two 3-pointers in a row. Boston College moved the ball around to the left wing and then quickly found Andrew Kenny wide-open in the right corner. But as Kenny rose up for his shot, Sidibe shuffled over and jumped up for an emphatic block to send the ball flying into the Syracuse bench. 

Then, BC inbounded to Makai Ashton-Langford, and with just a few seconds left on the shot clock, he air balled a 3 from the same corner. The 13 missed 3-pointers in the first half were indicative of a struggling BC offense that scored just 21 points in the first half. 

Sidibe Steps in

Sidibe’s huge block on Kenny wasn’t the only notable moment the center had on Saturday. The center missed a large portion of the first half of the season with an injury before returning against Brown right before the new year. Since then, Sidibe played in just four other games with just nine combined minutes. But in the first half against BC, Sidibe notched 10 minutes, his most since playing 11 against Clemson last season.

Not only did Sidibe help on defense, the center also made an impact offensively. He checked in at the 12:51 mark of the first half alongside Benny Williams and Symir Torrence. Sidibe took starter Frank Anselem’s spot and soon scored. After the Orange forced a turnover on defense, Cole Swider drove up the court before sending a bounce pass to Sidibe under the basket for an easy layup. The layup was Sidibe’s first points since he scored against Clemson a month ago. 

Later, Joe Girard III was left open in the left corner for a 3, but he missed. As the ball bounced high in the air, it was Sidibe grabbing the rebound and going up again for the putback only to be fouled and sent to the line.

By the end of the night, Sidibe logged 18 minutes, his most since the 2019-20 season, when he was a full-time starter.

Defense powers the win

After the loss to Virginia Tech, Boeheim said that the Syracuse defense played well as the game plan was to limit the Hokies’ 3-pointers, which it did. But he mainly attributed the loss to the offense sputtering down the stretch when Syracuse was in a tie game with six minutes remaining. Against Boston College, Syracuse’s offense got the job done, but it was the defense that helped Syracuse spark offense on the fast break. 

Girard and Buddy Boeheim at the top of the zone did most of the damage. First, Girard tipped an errant pass to Buddy to send the Orange in transition. Then, on BC’s next possession, Girard jumped a pass and rushed down the other end. His fast break layup was blocked, but Girard gathered his own rebound and went up to score.

Later, when Torrence was checked in for Girard, Ashton-Langford surveyed his options at the top of the zone. He then decided to dribble to the paint, but Torrence and Buddy closed the space, squeezing the ball out of Ashton-Langford’s hands and into Buddy’s. A couple of possessions later, Buddy’s steal and fast break layup put the Orange up 34-15, forcing BC into a timeout as the game drifted further and further out of reach for the Eagles. 

Buddy and Girard combined for eight of Syracuse’s 13 steals. The Orange also recorded six blocks to help seal the win.

Published on February 19, 2022 at 2:12 pm

Contact Gaurav: gshetty@syr.edu