A quick take on Syracuse’s 72-58 loss to Louisville on Wednesday night:
WHAT HAPPENED: After leading Louisville for the majority of the first half, and by as many as 12, Syracuse found itself down 28-27 at intermission following a Trey Lewis 3-pointer at the buzzer. That seemed to get Louisville’s offense going, as an early 12-3 run to begin the second half gave the Cardinals a 44-35 lead. Syracuse would trail by double-digits in the game’s final 11 minutes in one of its most lopsided losses of the season.
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ANALYSIS: There were no shortage of problems for Syracuse on Wednesday evening. To start, the Orange interior defense was completely exposed by Chinanu Onuaku (brother of former SU star Arinze), whose 15 rebounds was part of a +11 performance for the Cardinals on the glass. Points in the paint also told a clear story, with Louisville dominating the Orange 50-20. On the other end, Syracuse’s duo of Malachi Richardson and Tyler Lydon, who had just dominated Boston College just days earlier, looked rattled against Louisville’s defensive intensity. The freshmen combined for 4-15 shooting from the field. Overall, SU was 38 percent from the field, 8-24 from downtown and 12-21 from the free throw line.
HERO: Onuaku, Damion Lee and Trey Lewis provided all the offense Louisville needed, as they combined for 42 points. Franklin Howard provided some quality minutes and passing for the Orange off the bench, with six assists to just one turnover. Trevor Cooney hit five 3-pointers to finish with 19.
ZERO: Syracuse got a quiet night from Tyler Roberson, who finished with just five points and four rebounds.
WHAT’S NEXT: Syracuse returns home to face Pitt on Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. TV: ESPN2.
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