Syracuse (4-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) dominated Bucknell (2-4), 97-46, in the first game of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Elijah Hughes controlled the pace for Syracuse with 21 points, 16 of them coming in the first 10 minutes of game action, and five assists. Syracuse now travels to the Barclays Center for a matchup with Oklahoma State on Wednesday night.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Big Impact

Bourama Sidibe and Marek Dolezaj, who have started together since the season-opener, started quickly on Saturday. The two bigs combined to nearly out-rebound all of Bucknell by themselves in the first half (13-11) and fought for multiple second-chance opportunities around the rim. Their combined length caused trouble for Bucknell passing to the interior, making inside shots and rebounding — no matter the position they had.

To start the second half, Sidibe missed multiple shots around the basket but got his own rebound each time. The length of Dolezaj forced Bucknell to draw some attention away from Sidibe, who finally corralled the ball and went up with a layup that sent the SU bench into a frenzy.

Turnover happy

Syracuse rotated fast, it possibly showcased more length than the Bison have seen at any point so far this season, but all that combined with some sloppy passing from Bucknell. The Bison turned the ball over 23 times, a season-high for Syracuse opponents. The Orange’s zone was too difficult for Bucknell to keep track of: looking for openings often gave SU time to poke the ball away and forcing the ball into tight spots led to easy Syracuse interceptions.

By the end of the first half, the stout SU defense had been established, which opened up for the offense to put the game away.

Shooters shoot

Syracuse has, for the most part, stayed true to its preseason promise to shoot a lot of shots from the perimeter. Early in the game, Bucknell opened it up for that to happen. Several times, Hughes was left open on a skip pass to the corner, which led to open 3s and an inflated box score for Hughes. Once Hughes’ scoring quieted down, Buddy heated up from beyond the arc. His 22 points led all players, and most of his points came from handoffs or dump passes on the perimeter.

In all, Syracuse shot 14-of-29 from beyond the 3-point arc. Nearly half of Syracuse’s field goals came from outside the 3-point line and SU converted with an efficiency it longed for in the preseason. 

Published on November 23, 2019 at 1:55 pm

Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary