Syracuse held off Cornell on Wednesday night, 80-68, in the final game of 2021. Here are some quick hits from the game:
- Syracuse was fortunate to escape with the win after giving up 15 three-pointers in the game, as well as struggling against Cornell’s full court press most of the night. In particular, Keller Boothby constantly breaking free beyond the arc when he entered the game shooting over 57 percent from three is a very troubling sign.
- Cole Swider has made six of eight three-point attempts in the last two games, lifting his season shooting percentage beyond the arc to 34.3 percent.
- Joe Girard III had a game to forget, finishing with as many turnovers as points – five.
- Symir Torrence joined Girard in Jim Boeheim’s doghouse, committing a pair of turnovers in relief. He also missed both his field goal attempts and went 1-of-4 from the foul line, all coming in the final four minutes and twice missing the front end in bonus situations.
- While it has come against lesser competition, Buddy Boeheim appears to have found his groove, shooting 20-for-35 (57.1 percent) from the floor in the last two games after a three-game stretch of hitting 30.2 percent of his shots.
- Jimmy Boeheim has been the most consistent source of offense for SU thus far, leading the team in double-digit scoring games, cracking double figures in 11 of the team’s 12 contests.
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- The Orange shift their attention to conference play, as Virginia visits to ring in the New Year on Saturday in an ACC matchup. The Cavaliers (7-5, 1-1) dropped their last game, a 67-50 home contest against Clemson, who snapped an 11-game losing streak to Virginia with the win.
- Jayden Gardner leads the Cavs in scoring and rebounding, averaging 14.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game on the season. Guards Armaan Franklin and Kihei Clark combine for 21 points per contest with Clark leading the team in threes (19) and three-point shooting (40.4 percent).
- Saturday’s Syracuse-Virginia game will get underway at 6:00pm Eastern with the ACC Network televising the contest.
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