Syracuse basketball came away empty-handed in the Legends Classic.
“We will win fourth place.” – Jackie Moon (Semi Pro)
Syracuse’s third-ever meeting with Texas Tech splits the tie in favor of the Red Raiders. They leave the UKG Legends Classic winless (0-2), and in fourth place out of the four teams in the tournament.
Takeaway #1: Not forcing turnovers
Syracuse basketball only forced three turnovers all night. You read that correctly.
The Red Raiders average 12 a game, ranking them just inside the top 200. Syracuse needed to find a way to come up with more than just three forced turnovers on the night.
They each came on steals from J.J. Starling, Jaquan Carlos, and Eddie Lampkin Jr.
Syracuse turned the ball over 12 times on their own, which didn’t help their case.
Texas Tech had 11 more points off of turnovers than the Orange.
Takeaway #2: Assistless Eddie
Something seemed up with the Colorado transfer on Friday night. Rocking a band-aid over his left eye, Lampkin didn’t have that juice he’s had in each Syracuse game thus far. It resulted in only five points from the Houston native and zero assists.
He had six assists vs Texas and seven vs Youngstown State. He’s never had zero assists in a Syracuse uniform before this game.
“They were sending doubles, I was trying to read it. I got it there a couple times, they just weren’t making shots,” said Lampkin. “They were trying to stop me, but they just weren’t making shots.”
Coach Adrian Autry didn’t like the fact that they weren’t getting the ball to Lampkin deeper in the post. It led to a disrupted offense that was more focused on guard play (Starling with 27 and Chris Bell with 22).
We’ll see if Lampkin can get his groove back in their next game vs Cornell.
Takeaway #3: Free throws
Free throws are again a top-three takeaway. But for good reason this time.
Syracuse went 24 for 28 on free throws (86%). Getting to line early and often helped Syracuse bring a tie into halftime, and keep the game closer in the second half.
Chris Bell went 11-for-11 from the charity stripe.
It’s a far cry from last night’s effort versus Texas, where Syracuse shot 9 for 18 from the line.
It’s good to know this team can hit free throws, something that was not evident in their first four games, where they ranked outside the top 320 Division I teams in free throw percentage.
Before conference play starts, Syracuse has a couple chances to improve their resume, with a game at Tennessee being the crown jewel. They’re going to need to take everything they’ve learned this tournament and put it into immediate practice if they want a win in Knoxville a week from Tuesday.
Next up for Syracuse (3-2): vs. Cornell (3-2) – Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. EST
Next up for Texas Tech (5-1): vs. Northern Colorado (4-2) – Nov. 29 at 8 p.m. EST
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