The Syracuse Orange took down Niagara, 83-71, Thursday night in SU’s non-conference finale. Adrian Autry’s squad improved to 9-3 on the year with a chance to pick up their 10th win of 2023 against Pitt at the Dome next Saturday.
Four Syracuse Orange players ended up in double-digit scoring, with sophomore Judah Mintz leading the way with 18 points. Sophomore Maliq Brown shined, picking up his first double-double of the season with a 15-point, 10-rebound output.
Despite the size advantage for Syracuse, the rebound numbers were nearly identical. Where the Orange ran away with it was on the defensive side of the ball, recording eight steals and seven blocks. It was an all-around good performance from Syracuse.
Takeaway #1: There are NINE starter-caliber players on this Syracuse Orange team
Yes. NINE.
Through 12 games, Syracuse has used a starting lineup of Mintz, J.J. Starling, Chris Bell, Justin Taylor, and Naheem McLeod. All five starters have their strengths and they play off of each other extremely well.
But that second unit… it can be lethal.
Sophomore Quadir Copeland is coming off of his career-best stretch of games, scoring 12 or more in his last three appearances. Against Niagara he dropped his 12 points to go along with 8 assists, tying his career-high assist total.
Sophomore Maliq Brown has been tearing it up on the defensive side of the ball all season, but Thursday’s game saw Brown produce on offense as well. A mixture of elite transition offense and commanding presence in the paint led to a season-high 15-point performance.
Junior Benny Williams went viral against Oregon with a violent jam, and he just missed out on what could have been college basketball’s biggest poster of the season had he not been fouled. He is a physical specimen, and his career 32.9% three-point shooting adds to the appeal.
Kansas transfer Kyle Cuffe, Jr. had a slow start to the season, but these past few games have shown Syracuse fans exactly what the sophomore guard can do. Cuffe is known as a shooter, but he has attacked the rim extremely well in the past few outings.
This second unit could be just as good as the first.
Takeaway #2: Brown should start at the 5 vs. Pitt
Speaking of depth, McLeod might be better suited in the second unit.
McLeod has a lot to like, especially defensively. He changes ends well, he moves rather well off-ball and he is a defensive stallworth around the rim, averaging 1.8 blocks on the season. He has shown flashes of what he is capable of on offense, but nothing has been consistent.
Brown, on the other hand, is starting to get hot.
Autry loses height with McLeod out of the starting lineup, but what the Syracuse Orange head coach gains is the ability to play uptempo from the jump. The second unit looks vastly different from the starters, mainly because Brown is more of a threat to jump passing lanes. Syracuse runs a quicker offense when Brown is on the floor.
The other advantage to moving McLeod down the depth chart is development. McLeod’s missing piece is his presence in the post. He looked very good against Chaminade in the Maui Invitational, showing off his touch around the rim with a few jump hooks.
And that’s the thing: He’s coordinated. He’s not your typical 7-4 center. He finishes with finesse.
McLeod needs some reps against backup ACC centers. If he can learn to carve out some space and attack the entry pass, he has the potential to put Syracuse over the top.
He just needs a chance to get there.
Takeaway #3: Syracuse continues to struggle in the late game
Coach Autry was not happy at the beginning of his press conference.
“The last four or five minutes [were] unacceptable,” said Autry, visibly disturbed. “We let our foot off the gas… We just can’t do that.”
This is yet another occurrence of Syracuse letting an opponent cut the lead to single digits after being up big for most of the game. The Orange led by 19 points with about 10 minutes to go in the game, and with 1:46 left Niagara cut it to a nine-point game.
There were multiple times Autry became animated down the stretch, nearly all due to a Syracuse player arguing a no-call. The lax defense allowed Niagara to put together a run. Autry said it was Syracuse’s youth and inexperience making an appearance.
This team can be good. Heck, this team can be great. But Syracuse is yet to play a complete 40-minute game.
Next up for Syracuse: vs. Pitt (Dec. 30 – Noon)
Next up for Niagara: at Buffalo (Dec. 29 – 7 p.m.)