Syracuse dropped the first (unofficial) game of Gerry McNamara’s head coaching career at SU, 72-52, on Tuesday evening at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut in preseason action.
What Happened
A relatively competitive (if sloppy) first half saw the Orange heading into halftime down just 31-26. Connecticut had originally jumped out to a 26-18 lead with 4:14 before intermission, but the Orange responded with an 8-0 run to tie the game with 1:41 left. Connecticut would start the second half on a 10-2 run to take a 41-30 lead with 14:57 to go, and Syracuse would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
Analysis
Anyone eyeballing the Syracuse roster heading into this season has drawn two relatively simple conclusions. The first is that the Orange will struggle to find consistent scoring, especially from the perimeter. The second is that SU possesses good size and length, and figures to be a solid, if not spectacular, defensive team. That certainly played out in its first exhibition.
Starting with the defense, Syracuse played to its strengths in the first half. Connecticut was held to 11 for 31 shooting (35.5 percent) in the first half, and the Huskies turned the ball over seven times. Silas Demary Jr. shot just 3 for 11 from the field. The second half was a bit of a different story, as UConn started to pull away. The Huskies would shoot 48 percent from the field, and limited themselves to just two turnovers. Demary only registered one field goal attempt, but got to the line consistently, hitting 6 of 8 from the charity stripe.
Meanwhile, Syracuse struggled on offense the entire night. With Aiden Tobiason leaving for the locker room with a lower body injury just minutes into the contest and Mark Morano, widely billed as one of the team’s offensive weapons, unavailable with a lower leg injury, the Orange appeared stagnant. While Sadiq White Jr. led the Orange in scoring with 17 points, while also displaying an improved touch from downtown (2-4 from 3), SU shot a dreadful 30.6 percent and was just 4 for 19 from 3-point land. Kiyan Anthony was one of the main culprits, shooting just 2-11 from the field and 0 of 5 from downtown.
Hero
With Garwey Dual appearing like he’s still making his way back from an injury and playing only 10 minutes, Syracuse turned to true freshman Ryan Moesch to shoulder most of the minutes at point guard. The precocious neophyte displayed confidence and activity, stuffing the stat sheet with 4 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, though he also shot an unsightly 1-10 from the field. He undoubtedly will be a rotation player, and could ultimately push for starters minutes as the season wears on.
Zero
Aside from its lack of offensive production, Syracuse is also clearly going to need someone to step up in the rebounding game. The Huskies dominated, 41-33, on the glass, and for a long stretch of time, Moesch, all of 6-foot, was SU’s leading rebounder (he ultimately finished second next to Luke Wilson’s 9).
What’s Next
Syracuse returns on Sunday for its second exhibition game against McNamara’s former team, Siena, at the MVP Arena in Albany. The game is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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