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Syracuse came into Saturday’s game coming off of a close loss to Miami. Questions of the team’s youth and whether or not it could close out games arose again after a costly turnover by Judah Mintz amongst numerous turnovers that hindered Syracuse against one of the best teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Orange headed off to Georgia Tech, a team they’ve beaten six times and lost to six times, but the Yellow Jackets have struggled this season.

The Orange started off slow, placing themselves in another early deficit that ballooned out at one point to 11 points. But then Joe Girard III, who ended with 28 points on 6-of-10 shooting on 3-pointers and 11-of-21 from the field, took over. Syracuse rode a 17-0 run in the middle of the first half to a comfortable lead at halftime and an eventual 80-63 win. While Syracuse still struggled in transition, the Orange (13-7, 6-3 ACC) shot 54.4% from the field and catalyzed a sixth ACC win over the Yellow Jackets (8-11, 1-8 ACC).

Here are some observations from the win.

Yellow Jackets turn defense into offense

Jim Boeheim does not like when Syracuse is slow to get back on defense. He has chided against his players lazily getting back to the other side of the court, especially after a turnover it committed. Shortly after the under-12 timeout in the first half, Boeheim shouted to his team on the court to improve its press and defense. But on the next play, Jesse Edwards came up way too high, allowing Deivon Smith to throw the ball down past midcourt. One pass later, the Yellow Jackets easily scored. Boeheim tossed his arms at the play and immediately called for Mounir Hima to come in — he’d seen enough.

Though they trailed by seven points at the end of the first half, the Yellow Jackets had 10 fast break points, most of which came via a dunk or contested layup. The Orange, conversely, had consistent trouble getting back to even put a hand on the shot attempt, and Georgia Tech essentially had its way after a turnover or missed shot. The 17-0 run that Syracuse enjoyed in the midst of the first half allowed the Orange to take hold of the game and cracked open an eventual double-digit lead of their own.

But whenever Georgia Tech attempted to mount a comeback, it always came off a slow transition from the Orange. The Yellow Jackets forced eight turnovers throughout the game, continuing Syracuse’s struggles of maintaining possession that have persisted at points during this season. They didn’t want to wait for the Orange to settle into their 2-3 defense, and when they did, the Yellow Jackets tended to get stuffed inside. So they had quick possessions and worked most effectively when Syracuse’s defenders were off balance and had yet to settle in on defense.

Another slow start

Syracuse has tried everything offensively to mitigate the slow starts that have plagued this season. The bad shooting out of the gate and short offensive possessions have led to major holes that force a late run from the Orange. Especially when Girard is slow out of the gate, the offense just seems to sputter, showcasing little penetration and opting for long shots and contested mid range attempts. It sputtered during the first 10 minutes of the first half, though in the long run it didn’t make a difference.

Defensively, the Orange shifted up toward the 3-point line too much, allowing the Yellow Jackets to cut inside behind the final layer of the 2-3 defense and dominate the Orange on the boards. By the end of the first half, Edwards had just four points and one rebound. No player had more than two rebounds by the end of the first half, which — in part — is what led to Georgia Tech jumping out to, at one point, an 11-point lead.

Girard lifts Syracuse out of early hole

Just as Boeheim was reaching his boiling point, the press stopped working and Syracuse couldn’t find the bottom of the net, Girard took over. The senior has been streaky this season, most recently against Miami, and was off to another slow start again on Saturday afternoon. But then, to fuel an eventual 17-0 run that firmly catapulted the Orange into the lead, his clanked mid-range shots started to fall. He opened up enough space on 3s to start taking them, and he made his first four from long range.

First, with Symir Torrence at point guard, Girard stood on the left side of the outer arc with his feet moving, working on his defender to create space. When Girard finally opened up space, Torrence pounced on it and dished a pass over to Girard, who quickly pivoted and drained a 3. Syracuse’s comeback was nearly complete, as it was finally just one possession behind a team that at one point was flying around the court enjoying a double-digit lead. On the next possession, Girard brought the ball up. He wasn’t going to wait to create space, and he noticed his defender opting a few steps away from him. So, from nearly five feet behind the 3-point line, knocked down the shot, giving Syracuse a 26-25 lead.

By the end of the fist half, Girard had a game-leading 18 points off of 7-for-11 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 shooting on 3-pointers. He was automatic, controlling a game that early on got away from the Orange. He ended the game with 28 points, a performance Syracuse needed in order to take care of a struggling Georgia Tech team.

Terrific shooting from the field

Syracuse is a top-tier team in terms of field goal percentage — that’s never been an issue for the Orange this season. The Orange entered the afternoon as a team connecting on 50.4% of 2-point shots, and while Girard added sparks throughout the win over Georgia Tech with deep 3-pointers, SU continued to penetrate on the Yellow Jacket’s defense, consistently winning double-team matchups and physical altercations when going up for layups. Edwards and Maliq Brown also provided a destructive duo down low that helped the Orange dominate inside the paint.

If Georgia Tech allowed the Orange to get the ball close to the basket — which it did frequently — they typically scored. Brown had another career day, following up his tremendous performance against Virginia Tech with 18 points and four rebounds. So when Mintz, Girard or Torrence would drive into the paint, GT’s defense was at a loss. Should they overcorrect and double team one of the guards who is an extremely efficient shooter from close range? Could they deal with leaving someone like Edwards or Brown open? Either way, neither worked.

With six minutes left in the second half, Mintz drove in once again on the Yellow Jackets. Syracuse was already ahead by double digits and was looking to continue to pour on buckets to completely bury GT down the stretch. As Mintz came in, both of Georgia Tech’s forwards crashed in on him, but left Brown alone standing right under the rim. Mintz kept his head up and noticed this, dishing the ball off to Brown through the double team. Brown easily went up without much obstruction and threw down a dunk.

Published on January 21, 2023 at 2:28 pm

Contact Anthony: aalandt@syr.edu | @anthonyalandt