Syracuse Basketball: One Thing I Think I Know After Exhibition Opener

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team lost 72-52 on Tuesday night in the first exhibition game of the season. The loss to the UConn Huskies at Mohegan Sun Arena doesn’t really mean anything, but there were things we could learn from it.

And while I’m aware that what I’m about to say is a one-game overreaction, I do think it’s going to be something that we’re talking about at multiple points this season.

Advertisement

I want to be completely fair on this. As I just said above, I know this was one game, in the preseason, against an elite opponent. Things can change as the season goes on – and they should. Furthermore, Syracuse lost transfer guard Aiden Tobiason to injury within the first five minutes of the game and that clearly impacted the offense as well.

That said, I just think half-court offense is going to continue to be an issue for this team as we move through 2026-27.

For starters, it doesn’t appear that SU has any players that can truly get to the lane at ease on the perimeter. Ryan Moesch and Garwey Dual both have solid athleticism and are clearly good players, but I don’t see them as guys who can routinely break down opposing defenses, at least really good ones. If you can’t break down your defender easily, get into the lane and draw help, then it’s hard to find wide open shots in half-court sets.

Syracuse Orange head coach Gerry McNamara answers questions from the media during the ACC Tip-Off in Charlotte, NC. Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Furthermore: If you can’t break down your opponent off the dribble to create wide open shots, then the ball tends to get swung around the perimeter where you end up settling for a contested jumpshot. Well, without Tobiason, the Orange were just 4-of-19 from three-point range. It’s a similar problem that we saw a year ago. Nate Kingz was a solid 3-point shooter, but most of the rest of the roster struggled and the team ended up settling for shots they couldn’t routinely make too often.

Advertisement

We saw it in this…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/syracuse-basketball-one-thing-think-125809710.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-10-14 12:58:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.