Instant Juice: Syracuse 77, Colgate 56

Bourama Sidibe
Syracuse center Bourama Sidibe (34) pulls down a rebound against Colgate. Mandatory Photo Credit: Initra Marilyn, The Juice Online.

A quick take on Syracuse’s 77-56 win over Colgate on Wednesday evening:

WHAT HAPPENED: After Rapolas Ivanauskas hit a 3-pointer with 18:16 left in the second half, the Syracuse faithful became jittery with the Orange trailing 38-35. But a 17-0 run midway through the second half capped by a Marek Dolezaj put back made it 69-46 with 7:05 to go, as the Orange finally found its shooting touch after a tough start to the season.

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ANALYSIS: Syracuse’s shooting troubles during the first four games of the season had partially been attributed to the absence of senior point guard Frank Howard. SU came into Wednesday’s matchup shooting a frigid 20.5 percent from downtown and 38.9 percent from the field. Howard did nothing to change that in the first half, as the Orange started just 2 for 10 from distance and 12 for 34 from the field. But Tyus Battle and Elijah Hughes hit back-to-back 3s to give the Orange a six point lead with 12:16 to go and a Jim Boeheim jacket toss happened shortly thereafter following an SU defensive lapse seemed to be the impetus to wake the Orange from the doldrums. Syracuse went on to shoot 43.3 percent from the field and 7 for 20 from beyond the arc. For Howard’s part, he finished with 5 assists, a season high for this Orange team.

HERO: Battle’s 24 points and 3 for 3 shooting from downtown led Syracuse. With the Orange struggling to find its offensive rhythm, the strategy seemed to be to give him the ball and get out of the way as he jump started the offense. It certainly worked. Hughes chipped in 17.

ZERO: Oshae Brissett had his third straight game of looking uncomfortable. With his 3-point shot faltering in New York City, Brissett made a concerted effort to get inside, collecting 9 offensive rebounds. But he struggled to finish, shooting 5 for 15 from the field despite attempting only one 3-pointer (that he missed).

WHAT’S NEXT: Syracuse will play Ohio State in the Big 10/ACC Challenge on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 7:00 p.m.

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About Wes Cheng 2907 Articles
Wes has worked for Rivals.com covering the New York Knicks, as well as for Scout.com covering Syracuse athletics. Wes has also been a contributing writer for the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), for SportsNet New York (SNY) as a news desk writer covering all of New York professional sports, and reported on the NBA and MLB for the New York Sportscene. A native of Long Island, New York, Wes graduated from Syracuse University in 2005 with a degree in journalism. Contact him at wes[at]sujuiceonline.com.