The shocks came one after the other: An Elijah Hughes 3-pointer from the wing. A Frank Howard finger roll off a steal. Back-to-back lobs behind the Northeastern 2-3 zone, both of which ended with slams at the basket.

Through seven games, one of Syracuse’s most glaring holes has been its offense. Specifically, its offense against matchup and 2-3 defenses. On Tuesday night, there was no need for head coach Jim Boeheim to call a timeout because the ball movement wasn’t there. No need to resort to the full-court pressure.

Syracuse (6-2) cruised past Northeastern (4-5) at the Carrier Dome, 72-49, in front of 20,416 fans. It’s the Orange’s fourth-straight win, four days before they host former Big East rival Georgetown. Syracuse beat the Huskies, which has made only one NCAA Tournament over the past 26 years, by attacking the defense SU patented; by riding the hot hands of forwards Oshae Brissett and Hughes, who scored 38 points combined; by holding the offensive-minded Huskies — the Colonial Athletic Association favorite — to under 50 points.

Even as junior guard Tyus Battle entered the half without a single basket (he finished with two points), and even as Howard had only two points himself, the Syracuse offense prevailed.

“We really started well against the zone, got the ball where we needed to,” Boeheim said, adding: “But we’re not even close to where we’d like to be at this time of the season.”

Syracuse displayed more offensive movement than in its near-upset loss to Cornell on Saturday night. Boeheim characterized the SU effort against the Big Red as “horrendous,” as Cornell senior guard and NBA-hopeful Matt Morgan drilled long three after long three and SU never got much clicking on offense. It took Battle’s 26 points to bail out the Orange.

Battle’s outburst mirrored many SU wins a season ago. For Syracuse to win early this season and much of last, Battle had to score 20-plus points over nearly 40 minutes of action. The common theme was one-dimensionality.

“We’ve got more options this year,” freshman guard Buddy Boeheim said. “This game showed we have more to us this year.”

Tuesday, their 20 assists provided evidence for what a reloaded SU team can do. Howard said he’s continuing to work back from his ankle injury. He hopes to be at or close to 100 percent by Saturday, and while he wasn’t himself against the Huskies, Boeheim noted the ball moves better when he’s on the floor. Howard points to where he knows teammates should be, and he’s the one initiating sets. With him at full-go, few SU games this season would have been close, Boeheim said.

Meanwhile, another adjustment altered the SU attack. Brissett planted himself in the high-post area and went to work. “Once you get in the middle,” Boeheim said of the zone, “you can attack it.” Usually on the wings or short corner, Brissett benefited from floor space around the free-throw line. Through Brissett (14 rebounds, two assists) at the post and Hughes on the wing, SU had a one-two punch going against the Northeastern 2-3.

The Orange walk through the 2-3 defense every day. They know how to use it and they know how to defend it: prevent drives and passes to the middle. They haven’t always appeared comfortable against the defense over the past season and a half. But Tuesday, Syracuse sometimes emphasized a drive-first mentality, even against the zone. Drives, kick-outs and targeting open shooters on the wings became the formula.

SU shredded the 2-3 so much that the Huskies switched to a 3-2. Little changed. Syracuse shot only 43.3 percent from the field — a telling indicator against zones — yet managed 72 points because they operated through the middle of the floor.

The Orange entered the half leading, 35-23. Hughes drilled a corner 3-pointer on their first possession to extend the lead. Midway through the second frame, three rapid passes set up Buddy in the corner. He drilled the shot amid his best collegiate performance yet (he finished with 11 points), well above his previous career-high (three). His make prompted the SU bench to rise to its feet. His father clapped his hands forcefully — he had smacked Buddy’s butt a few plays before after Buddy nearly turned the ball over and missed an open 3-pointer.

The array of scorers carried on. With five minutes remaining, freshman forward Robert Braswell knocked down an open 3, again the result of quick ball movement largely unseen through the first seven games. Boeheim put his right arm in the air. Assistant coach Gerry McNamara smiled at Boeheim.

“We have a lot of scorers,” Brissett said. “It’s a big reason we came into the year with such high expectations.”

With just two games over the next two weeks, the Syracuse offensive progression showcased Tuesday night provides reason to believe balance could be in store. If not this week, soon — given nine Syracuse players scored. Battle didn’t lead SU in scoring for only the second time on the young season, but the Orange’s offense still eclipsed 70 points.

If the game was reliable evidence — and sometimes one game isn’t — SU showed it’s capable of putting up the balanced scoring numbers last year’s team couldn’t have.

Published on December 4, 2018 at 9:08 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21