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For the second time this season, Syracuse entered a game on a losing streak. The Orange dropped two straight, first a 26-point blowout on the road to Tennessee, then a close loss to Notre Dame in South Bend. Following the two road defeats, the Orange returned to the JMA Wireless Dome to take on UAlbany.

The Orange started strong, jumping out to a double-digit halftime lead, led by bruising play in the paint. They continued their momentum in the second half, leading by as many as 24 points. UAlbany made a push late, but Syracuse’s work to put itself in front was enough.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (5-4, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) 102-85 win over UAlbany (6-5, America East):

Startling lineup wrinkle

Prior to tipoff, syracuse.com’s Mike Waters reported that Donnie Freeman would not be in the starting lineup, due to a “personal issue” and not a “disciplinary issue.” Freeman would still be available for the game, but Jyáre Davis would start in his place. It was also announced that freshman Elijah Moore would earn his first career start.

Davis was coming off a 20-point performance against Notre Dame after going six games without scoring 20-plus. Meanwhile, Moore has started to come into his own. He knocked down eight 3-pointers in a two-game stretch against Cornell and Tennessee while averaging 21.5 points per game.

In SU’s new-look lineup, it immediately looked to Davis down low. He sealed his man on SU’s first possession and later caught a lob from Jaquan Carlos to end a UAlbany 7-0 run. Davis scored six of Syracuse’s first nine points but picked up his second foul just over five minutes. Freeman entered off the bench to replace Davis.

Davis continued to be effective in the second half with his big body inside. The Delaware transfer finished with 15 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting. Moore didn’t have his best game, recording six points. Meanwhile, in his first game coming off the bench, Freeman didn’t skip a beat. He recorded a career-high 24 points while hitting a career-high four 3-pointers.

Kyle Cuffe Jr.’s spark

Kyle Cuffe Jr. has been used sparingly by Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry this season. He only registered 22 total minutes entering Tuesday, with his season-high coming against Notre Dame (nine). Cuffe’s first-half appearance against UAlbany was his most productive of the season. The point guard scored just five points in his limited time this season, but in six minutes, he doubled that total.

Cuffe entered at the 9:22 mark in the first half. On his first offensive possession, UAlbany switched to a zone with Cuffe bringing the ball up the court. He tossed the ball to Freeman in the middle before relocating to the wing for a corner 3-point. The triple was SU’s first since its game with Tennessee after an 0-for-9 effort against Notre Dame.

Two minutes later, Cuffe drained another triple from the corner. Following a steal, Cuffe then attacked in transition. He took the ball aggressively to the rim before getting fouled. Cuffe sank the ensuing free throws, to bring his total to eight points.

A fast break layup upped him to 10 points. The only time he reached double figures (13) was last season on Nov. 22, 2023, in a win over Chaminade. He also only hit multiple 3-pointers on three occasions.

Cuffe exited with 3:49 remaining after just six minutes of action and didn’t return until there was 12:21 left in the second half. His impact was limited outside of that short stretch, but he provided a spark for the Orange in the first half.

Creating separation

Syracuse has struggled mightily to create separation in games this season, leading to many close games against weaker opponents. A lot of that has come down to its inability to start strong. The Orange led at halftime in just two games before Tuesday, but their first-half performance of UAlbany was easily their best of the season.

After 20 minutes Tuesday, SU led the Great Danes 47-34. The 13-point advantage was its largest lead at the break of any game this season. It was only the second time it took a double-digit lead into the half as well with the previous coming against Cornell. Even in that game, Syracuse had a sluggish start and fell behind 14-2.

With Syracuse down 12-10, Chris Bell hit a long 2-pointer to bring SU level. From there, the Orange outscored the Great Danes 35-22. Syracuse shot 21-of-37 in the first half, which allowed it to jump out to a comfortable lead. Even though it only hit two first-half 3-pointers, SU dominated inside. The Orange continued that trend after the break. They fed Davis and Eddie Lampkin Jr. inside and UAlbany couldn’t keep up. SU’s lead ballooned to 17 within five minutes at the start of the second, its largest of the year.

Carlos’ distribution

When asked about point guard Carlos’ early season struggles, Autry always pushes back on the claim. He responds that Carlos was brought to Syracuse to distribute the ball and doesn’t expect him to be a scorer. Through SU’s first two games, he did a good job of that, totaling 11 assists. But over the next four contests, he had just eight, including zero against Cornell in just 19 minutes.

Carlos followed up that game by registering four against Tennessee and then a season-high seven against Notre Dame. Carlos bested that number Tuesday with 12 to go along with 12 points. He looked comfortable running SU’s offense, something that hasn’t always been the case this year. In the first half, he executed two perfect lobs to Davis and then Freeman. Carlos controlled the ball as Davis received a screen before taking flight and Carlos hit him on the money. Carlos picked up a loose ball and tossed the ball to the rim for Freeman to go get. With 7:40 left in the first half, Carlos already had five assists after setting up Cuffe’s second triple.

Autry continued to let Carlos run the show in the second half, and he continued to give his teammates easy buckets. With seven assists on the board already, Carlos initiated a pick-and-roll with Freeman on the perimeter. Freeman rolled and Carlos hit him with a perfect pass as Freeman knocked down the triple. The two repeated the same action a couple of possessions later, which led to the same result. Freeman’s triple put SU up 72-57. Carlos fed Freeman down low for a dunk to tally his 10th assist.

It was the first time since April 17 that Carlos recorded at least 10 assists. In that game last season for Hofstra, he had a career-high 19 against Northeastern.

Published on December 10, 2024 at 9:16 pm

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