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In a season where he’s already had several memorable blocks, Alan Griffin’s swat with 42 seconds left against BC likely won’t resonate as much as it should. 

Boston College was cutting into Syracuse’s lead over the last two minutes, forcing two turnovers in the press — one by Buddy Boeheim and one by Marek Dolezaj. A Rich Kelly 3-pointer would’ve made it a one-possession game, but Griffin leaped and tipped it as Kelly released it. 

While it wasn’t exactly an inspiring performance, Syracuse (12-6, 6-5 Atlantic Coast) swept BC (3-13, 1-9) on the season. The game was a can’t-lose for Syracuse, and the Orange treated it as such. 

Here are three takeaways from Syracuse’s 75-67 victory:

Light switch

In their first meeting, Syracuse sank a program record 16 3-pointers on 31 attempts. On Saturday afternoon, SU started four-for-four from deep early on but finished five-for-11. 

The record-smashing shooting clinic in early December prompted reporters to question whether head coach Jim Boeheim had a special outside shooting group on its hands. That’s laughable looking back. SU has had games of 13%, 25%, 22% and 30% from behind the arc, and it entered Saturday’s contest shooting 32.1% from deep — 244th in the nation. 

In the second half, the shots stopped falling. On consecutive possessions, with SU’s lead dwindled into single digits, the Orange made zero passes. First, Joe Girard III nearly lost the ball dribbling up the court, then halfheartedly took a ball screen and launched a deep 3 that clanked off the rim. Then, Kadary Richmond isolated at the top of the key, but instead of driving to the cup like he usually does, he settled for a contested long-two. Those two ugly trips allowed BC to go on a 6-0 run. 

Even as Syracuse cooled off from the outside, the early makes overextended the Eagles’ defense, opening up vast driving lanes. Buddy and Girard both took advantage of overly aggressive closeouts by getting inside. 

Boston College’s defense is porous. It only had seven scholarship players active due to COVID-19. This game should be viewed with those factors in mind. But if Syracuse’s shooters can use this game as a launching point, its already elite offense — it’s in the top-30 in offensive efficiency, per KenPom — will get even better.

The center rotation plot thickens

Over and over again, Boeheim has noted that Syracuse doesn’t have a viable center option. With Bourama Sidibe unable to get healthy enough to contribute, Dolezaj has assumed the brunt of the minutes in the middle and has played valiantly. 

But when Dolezaj got in foul trouble, Boeheim elected to go with John Bol Ajak. The redshirt freshman hadn’t appeared in a game since Dec. 19 against Buffalo — Jesse Edwards is usually the “break glass in case of emergency” option. 

Bol Ajak played two first-half minutes. At one point, the lineup on the court for SU was Richmond, Girard, Buddy, Robert Braswell and Bol Ajak. In the halfcourt, he looked a bit lost. He stumbled around the perimeter in search for a man to screen on a set play. The only stat Bol Ajak recorded was a personal foul during an extracurricular scrum. 

On defense, Bol Ajak briefly manned the middle. He tried to draw a charge and took a lot of contact from an out-of-control Eagles slasher, but the whistle never blew. The BC shot nevertheless went awry, so it was an unorthodox instance of strong rim protection. 

Dolezaj was able to play the whole second half with three fouls, preventing SU from having to dip back into the reserve frontcourt well. He picked up his fourth foul with 5:36 left, and Boeheim had no choice but to keep him in the game. Against the short-handed Eagles, the lack of a true center doesn’t sting much. But it looms as a factor preventing SU from reaching its apex. 

A misleading ACC Network graphic

At one point, a graphic flashed on the screen showing Syracuse leading the ACC in steals and blocks per game, as well as opponent 3-point percentage. One could see nothing but that graphic and believe Syracuse is a powerhouse. 

The three stats in the graphic are all true. But what else is true is that Syracuse’s defense hasn’t been any good. And it wasn’t particularly impressive on Saturday, either. 

“The numbers don’t lie,” an ACC Network broadcaster said at one point when discussing whether the 2-3 zone still works. 

 

In the first half especially, SU allowed BC to slice into the middle of the zone either off the bounce or by entering it into the high post. And on one play, Steffon Mitchell caught a skip pass in the short corner, then found CJ Felder rolling down the paint for a jam over Dolezaj. 

In the second half, as BC tried to cut into Syracuse’s lead, solid individual defensive plays saved the Orange. In the span of about two minutes, Griffin and Quincy Guerrier combined for two blocks and a steal. BC also threw the ball out of bounds in that span. 

Syracuse forced 15 BC turnovers and held the Eagles to 29% from deep and 36.5% overall — expected, not eye-popping numbers. BC’s 67 points are around its season average of 71.5. 

Syracuse leading the conference in defensive 3-point percentage, steals and blocks is something for the Orange to be proud of. But it also suggests there could be some regression coming to the overall defensive performance once those metrics fall back down to earth, which is anything but exciting for SU.

Published on February 13, 2021 at 4:21 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman