A quick take on Syracuse’s 76-48 win over Northeastern:
WHAT HAPPENED: Up just 26-23 with a little over six minutes before half, Joe Girard stole the ball and fed a streaking Judah Mintz for an emphatic slam. That started an 8-0 run, and the Orange built on that to take a 39-25 going into halftime. The Orange continued to pour it on in the second half, and a 10-0 run capped by a Benny Williams jumper with 7:30 to go made it 66-37. In the official record books, Jim Boeheim, now in his 47th season, won his 1,000th game. But for those who have followed Boeheim through his years, he’s been the head coach when SU has defeated 1,101 other teams.
ANALYSIS: When Syracuse lost to Colgate earlier in the week, Boeheim noted that it was SU’s offense, not its defense, that was the major culprit. The Orange assisted on just nine of their 24 makes, while Jesse Edwards attempted just six shots. That was not the case against the Huskies. Syracuse made more of a concerted effort to spread the ball around, with 14 assists on 32 made field goals. Edwards also was made a focal point of the offense, as he finished 8-10 from the field for 19 points and seven rebounds. Mintz in particular was more of a distributor on Saturday, with five assists, compared to just two against Colgate. On defense, the Orange appears done with its man-to-man experiment just three games into the season. Boeheim elected to keep SU in zone the whole time, and it paid off, as the visitors shot just 32.2 percent from the field.
HERO: Syracuse’s “Big 3” of Mintz, Girard and Edwards combined for 58 of SU’s 76 points, while Benny Williams added 7 points and 8 rebounds. Girard shot just 4-12 from downtown against Colgate, but was 5-9 from beyond the arc against Northeastern.
» Related: Syracuse needs to feature Jesse Edwards more on offense
ZERO: They call them “free throws,” but no one told Northeastern. The Huskies shot just 2-13 from the charity stripe, with center Collin Metcalf missing all five of his attempts. The Huskies actually shot better from downtown (8-32). In another interesting statistic, no one from Northeastern finished in double figures, but 11 different players registered at least two points.
WHAT’S NEXT: Syracuse plays Richmond in the first round of the Empire Classic on Monday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. TV: ESPN2.
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