Syracuse finished off its exhibition schedule with a 97-64 rout of crosstown rival Le Moyne at the Carrier Dome on Tuesday evening. Here are some notes from the game:
- In its exhibition opener against Indiana (Pa.), the Orange started out in man-to-man defense before eventually going with a full-court press and then settling back into its familiar zone. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim elected not to play any man defense tonight, though he did decide to press. Le Moyne was sloppy at first, but eventually was able to consistently beat the full-court pressure.
- After struggling in his SU debut, Andrew White showed exactly how devastating of a scorer he will be in his final college season. White was 6 for 10 from downtown as part of a game-high 24 points. His backcourt partner, Frank Howard, rebounded from a middling opener by dishing out seven assists to just one turnover, and hit his first 3-pointer of the season. It appears, at least early on, that Boeheim has enough confidence in Howard’s improved shot to let him shoot from distance.
- Both guards off the bench, Tyus Battle and John Gillon, also had standout nights. Gillon looked more for his offensive tonight, and scored nine straight points midway through the second half to finish with 14. He showed a particularly quick first step, and got inside at will. The same went for Battle, who also drained three shots from beyond the arc on the way to 17 points.
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- This will likely not be an issue come the regular season, but it’s worth noting that Tyler Lydon missed all four of his 3-point attempts, and finished the preseason a combined 0 for 8 from distance. Lydon did, however, add 10 rebounds, and spent some time at the center position.
- Taurean Thompson has one of the most polished interior post games on the team, and is far ahead of Paschal Chukwu in his offensive repertoire. On one particular post play, Thompson spun to his left and hit a nifty fall away hook. It will be hard to keep him off the court given his ability to play both ends of the floor.
- Free throws will likely be an issue for this team. SU shot a combined 12 for 20 from the charity stripe. It of course won’t matter against a Division II team, but it will certainly play a factor later in the year.
- Syracuse will open the regular season on Friday with a 7 p.m. game against Colgate at the Carrier Dome.
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