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Symir Torrence will probably not play this week against Pittsburgh on Tuesday and Wake Forest on Saturday, head coach Jim Boeheim said on Monday’s Atlantic Coast Conference weekly conference call.

Torrence’s leg became interlocked with Duke’s Jaylen Blakes in the final minutes of Saturday’s blowout loss for SU. Torrence, Syracuse’s backup point guard, came up limping. He told reporters postgame that he sprained a ligament in his right knee during the sequence but reassured everyone that he would be fine moving forward.

“He’s played well the last couple games, and we’ll miss him,” Boeheim said on Monday. “He’s added a lot to the lineup … he’ll be out for a little while.”

Torrence provided a spark off the bench for Syracuse and saw more frequent use as part of Boeheim’s three-guard lineup. He’s averaged 12.5 minutes per game and has the third-most assists on SU with 56. When opposing teams apply a full-court press or heavy pressure, Boeheim has turned to Torrence, oftentimes in place of starter Joe Girard III, to handle the ball. 

Boeheim praised Torrence’s ball-handling abilities under pressure on last week’s conference call. Torrence’s teammates, including Girard, have done the same. “Symir comes in and does a great job of giving energy and effort, and that’s kind of what you need to do in the zone,” Girard said after the Clemson game on Jan. 18. 

Now without Torrence, at least in the short term, Boeheim said Cole Swider has been practicing at the 2 position “quite a bit.” Boeheim acknowledged that Syracuse is thin at the guard position with just three frequently used guards in Buddy Boeheim, Girard and Torrence. He said the team wanted to get another guard before the season, but that was difficult with both starters, Buddy and Girard, returning from last season. 

Boeheim referenced walk-on Paddy Casey, who transferred from Division II side University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, as someone who could “play a bit.” But Swider is Boeheim’s first option to play in the backcourt. 

Here are some other notes from Monday’s ACC conference call:

What Boeheim said about playing Pittsburgh (Round 2)

Syracuse won the first matchup between the two teams by 16 points, and Boeheim said at the time that the second half featured the best defense SU has played all year. 

Boeheim emphasized on Monday’s call that the defense hasn’t been as good as it needs to be, and SU is looking to make continual progress on that side of the ball. He said that in the Jan. 11 win over Pitt, SU had a better defensive outing in the second half after the first half was “an even game.”

“Sometimes you play a little better than others. They missed a couple shots, and our defense was a little bit better than it has been,” Boeheim said on Monday. “In the second half, we just did a little bit better job of getting on those shooters and containing the big kid (John Hugley) inside. He’s a really good player. So that’s what happened.”

What Pitt coach Jeff Capel said about SU

In Syracuse’s first game against Pitt, the Panthers’ top scorer, Hugley, was held to just one field goal and only eight points. When asked about Hugley for the second matchup on Tuesday, Pitt head coach Jeff Capel emphasized that Hugley’s quiet outing two weeks ago was because he had never played against a 2-3 zone like Syracuse’s.

“It’s not the zone that most people play or in John’s case, a zone that you maybe saw in high school,” Capel said. “So we’re hopeful that he’s way more comfortable this time. We hope our whole team is more comfortable this time against it than we were the first time.”

Capel said he felt his team played well for spurts in the first half when Pitt was able to generate shots against the SU zone. He said the Panthers had some good shots in the second half too but just didn’t make them.

“They are a very good offensive team,” Capel said. “They have really five guys now because (Jesse) Edwards is playing terrific basketball right now … so they’re a difficult team to guard, especially if you’re not scoring.”

Published on January 24, 2022 at 3:53 pm

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16