PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Syracuse’s offense has improved by leaps and bounds since early in the season. The Orange can always hang their hat on their defense, and that was the case early on when they had a good deal of difficulty at the offensive end. But now that the offense has come around, this team is much tougher to beat, and that was evident in their 87-73 win at Providence on Wednesday night.
Early on this season, the offense wasn’t pretty at times. While the Orange generally shot well, they had stretches where scoring in the halfcourt was difficult. They also turned the ball over a bit much at times, winning the NIT Season Tip-Off despite 21 turnovers in the final (although they forced 24 Stanford turnovers). But now the Orange average just over 11 turnovers per game, and had just eight on Wednesday night to go with 20 assists, which now gives them an assist-to-turnover ratio of better than 1.5 on the season.
The Orange actually had some struggles at the defensive end against the Friars, as they allowed the hosts to shoot 48 percent from the field in a first half that saw the two teams go back and forth. It was a well-played, deliberate half of basketball. But overall, this is a team that knows their defense will usually be there for them if the offense struggles.
More than the offense coming around, the depth of this team is a major strength. There isn’t a stud on this team, someone who is a likely NBA lottery pick one day. But the Orange can legitimately go ten deep, and there’s not a big difference from the top players down to a couple of reserves, something head coach Jim Boeheim highlighted in terms of the options it gives him. He even noted how freshman Michael Carter-Williams gave them four good minutes in the first half on Wednesday night but didn’t get off the bench in the second half, although part of that was the good run the guards had going.
With all of that, it’s not a surprise that Syracuse averages over 37 bench points per game and got 35 on Wednesday night. That number is far and above anything they have posted the prior six seasons, with the previous best being 24.4 two seasons ago.
“That’s our best quality, our bench, our depth,” said junior guard Brandon Triche. “We’ve got ten guys that can score the basketball. Whoever comes in is going to help, that’s the type of team we have. Everybody’s so hungry to get out there and play, there should be no let up.”
Six players scored in double figures for Syracuse on Wednesday, and no one scored more than Triche’s 16. Scoop Jardine had a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists with just two turnovers, not a bad line for a player who’s not a true point guard. In fact, that might be the most remarkable thing of all with this team: there is no one on the roster that strikes you as a true point guard, but the Orange manage just fine with combos like Jardine and Triche.
The Orange are relentless when you look at the offensive options. Kris Joseph has improved nicely over his career and is the top player. Jardine finds ways to score, Triche can shoot as can Carter-Williams, and Dion Waiters is a very tough player to guard with his strength and overall ability to get to the basket. Waiters and C.J. Fair would start for many teams, but are content with their roles and make this team so tough as Fair has deceptive length to help with the zone defense. For good measure, Fab Melo has improved to where he is a scoring threat inside and is making 57 percent of his shots.
“When our defense isn’t going, somebody’s going to spark on offense,” said Triche.
Opponents are shooting over 38 percent from the field against Syracuse, so the 2-3 zone continues to work. It helps that Syracuse hasn’t played the toughest schedule in the world thus far, although they did leave the state of New York once before the calendar turned over into 2012 for a win at North Carolina State. The schedule will eventually get tougher, but Syracuse will continue to be a tough team to beat with their depth and the continued improvement of the offense to go along with the already stingy defense.
