Syracuse's scoring woes were easy to predict but may be harder to fix
Syracuse shot 40 percent or below in all six of its losses last season. Then the Orange lost C.J. Fair, Tyler Ennis and Jerami Grant to the NBA this past spring.
So what happens when a team that already couldn't generate offense consistently enough loses its three leading scorers? Sometimes the answer is as simple as it seems.
Syracuse flubbed its first real test of the season Thursday night against Cal because it simply lacked enough weapons to keep up with the Bears' stable of perimeter scorers. Cal held the Orange to 37.2 percent shooting and rolled to a 73-59 victory, advancing to a 2K Classic title game matchup against Texas and relegating Syracuse to a date with Iowa in the third-place game.
One early-season loss against a fairly good opponent wouldn't normally be cause for alarm for Syracuse except that this one came with the sinking feeling that more setbacks may be on the way. The Orange more resembled a team that will have to fight just to make the NCAA tournament than one that will battle Duke, North Carolina, Louisville and Virginia for the ACC crown.
Of most concern was an offense that generated only 22 first-half points and didn't eclipse 50 points until barely three minutes remained in the game.
Leading scorer Rakeem Christmas battled foul trouble as he often does and managed only eight points. Sharpshooter Trevor Cooney found little free space behind the arc and only tallied nine. Freshmen Kaleb Joseph and Chris McCullough both reached double figures, but also showed their youth, the point guard with his decision making with the ball in his hands and the 6-foot-10 forward with his lack of toughness around the rim.
Formidable 2-3 zone defense helped Syracuse survive scoring droughts in years past, but the Orange are neither as tall and long nor as experienced this season. That helped Cal bury four straight 3-pointers to extend a two-point lead to 14 late in the first half, more than enough of a cushion to keep the cold-shooting Orange behind by 10 or more the rest of the way.
Sophomore guards Jordan Mathews and Jabari Bird led Cal with 22 and 16 points, respectively. The Bears also benefited from a 12-point, 10-rebound, 5-assist, 3-block night from perpetually underrated senior big man David Kravish.
Cal's performance at Syracuse's home away from home, Madison Square Garden, was an early sign the Bears may exceed expectations in Cuonzo Martin's debut season. They were picked seventh in the preseason Pac-12 poll because of questions at point guard and in the frontcourt behind Kravish, but their wealth of perimeter scoring gives them hope of a higher finish.
Thursday's victory also had to be cathartic for Cal because of its recent history against Syracuse. The Bears had lost three games to the Orange the past two season including one in the round of 32 of the 2012 NCAA tournament and another in the Maui Invitational title game last season.
Now Cal has sweet revenge and a shot at a second marquee win against Texas, while Syracuse will limp into its meeting with Iowa with its confidence surely shaken.
For months, optimistic Syracuse fans tried to convince themselves Christmas could mature into a consistent scorer in the post, Cooney could carry Syracuse with his perimeter shooting or one of the freshmen would mature quickly the way Tyler Ennis did a year ago.
Any of that could still happen, but a more alarming possibility could come to fruition too. Sometimes you take the three top scorers off a team that wasn't all that efficient to begin with, and you're left with exactly the sort of sputtering offense that you'd expect.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
