A quick take on Syracuse’s 78-43 win over Colgate on Monday evening at the Carrier Dome:
WHAT HAPPENED: An early 16-0 run from Syracuse turned a narrow 6-5 lead into a 22-5 blowout with 11:49 left in the first half. The Orange defense forced five turnovers during that run. Another 12-0 run near the end of the half put SU in complete control, as SU took a 36-9 lead, and a 43-13 lead into half. It was more of the same in the second half as the Orange enjoyed perhaps its most complete wire-to-wire performance of the season.
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ANALYSIS: The Orange, which came into Monday evening’s game shooting an ACC-worst 24 percent from downtown, enjoyed a statistical anomaly against the Raiders. The Orange finished an uncharacteristic 10-20 from downtown. Meanwhile, SU also took care of the ball, with zero turnovers in the first half (SU came in averaging 14.2 per game), and just 6 for the game while forcing 18 on the Raiders. While the Orange has enjoyed blowout wins against lesser opponents (Kennesaw State, Hampton and Holy Cross, among others), this was easily the most dominant win, with the Orange completely obliterating the Raiders from tip-off to the final buzzer.
HERO: Trevor Cooney had his third straight solid shooting game from beyond the arc to finish with 20 points. Following games against Louisiana Tech (4-8) and Villanova (3-5), Cooney was 4-9 against the Raiders. Over the past five games, he’s 15-35 from downtown. Rakeem Christmas notched another double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
ZERO: While the Orange enjoyed torrid shooting from 3-point land, Colgate had no such luck. Collectively, the Raiders shot 3-23 from downtown, and an abysmal 34 percent from the field.
WHAT’S NEXT: The host host Long Beach State on Sunday, Dec. 28 at 2 p.m.
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