Support The Daily Orange this holiday season! The money raised between now and the end of the year will go directly toward aiding our students. Donate today.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Syracuse is amid its longest streak without an NCAA Tournament since missing the tournament each year from 1967-72. Ten games into the 2024-25 season, the Orange haven’t made any case to return to March Madness for the first time since 2021.

Across its three Quad 1 games and one Quad 2 game, SU is 0-4. Syracuse’s first pair of Quad 1 games came at the Barclays Center a month ago, suffering narrow losses to Texas and Texas Tech. Despite the games resulting in losses, the contests were arguably the Orange’s most encouraging of the season — which says a lot about the program’s current state.

Since then, however, almost everything has fallen apart for SU. J.J. Starling, who was averaging a team-high 19.8 points per game, suffered a broken left hand and has been out indefinitely. In Starling’s absence, Syracuse is 1-4 with its lone win against UAlbany.

Coming off an embarrassing home loss in the 100th rendition of their rivalry with Georgetown, the Orange traveled back to the Barclays Center to face Maryland. SU suffered another lopsided loss, falling in wire-to-wire fashion. The Orange’s 27-point loss is their worst loss of the season, surpassing their 26-point defeat to Tennessee.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (5-6, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) 87-60 loss to Maryland (10-2, 1-1 Big Ten):

Sloppy start

Slow starts have plagued the Orange throughout the entire season. Early on, failure to build halftime leads afflicted SU against Le Moyne, Colgate and Youngstown State. Syracuse has held its own for the most part against higher-level teams, yet its closest first half was a 37-37 tie against the Hoyas.

Saturday in Brooklyn was no different. Jyáre Davis and Eddie Lampkin Jr. turned the ball over on SU’s first two possessions. Then, Donnie Freeman misfired a top-of-the-key triple before Jaquan Carlos bricked a layup. A Chris Bell transition layup got the Orange on the board at the 17:46 mark, bringing their deficit to 5-2.

Before SU head coach Adrian Autry called a timeout seven minutes in, the game’s first stoppage, Syracuse had as many points as turnovers while trailing 12-6. Like much of their previous games, the Orange couldn’t string together a run throughout the first half. SU’s largest run throughout the first half was a 4-0 run when Elijah Moore nailed a mid-range jumper a minute and a half after Bell’s layup.

While UMD endured similar early struggles, it continued developing its lead throughout the first half as Syracuse’s struggles from the floor continued. Over the final 4:12 of the half, the Terrapins outscored SU 17-2, capped by Jordan Geronimo slamming home a dunk in the half’s final seconds.

The Orange’s 43-17 halftime deficit was their worst of the season. It’s also the fewest points SU has scored in a half this season and its lowest total points in a half since scoring 19 first-half points against Clemson on Feb. 6, 2021.

Turnovers galore

A major reason for Syracuse’s first-half struggles stemmed from its turnovers. The Orange’s 12 first-half turnovers nearly outnumbered their season-high 13 against Notre Dame. Much of SU’s struggles persisted in the first seven minutes, when it had as many turnovers as points at the first break.

While Syracuse settled down, turning the ball over four times in the final 12 minutes, Maryland capitalized on most mistakes. Following one of Carlos’ four turnovers eight minutes before halftime, Rodney Rice converted on a fastbreak dunk. A possession later, after Lampkin traveled, Derik Queen made a look at the rim.

In the final minute, the Terps put an exclamation mark on the first half. First, after Davis double-dribbled in transition, Selton Miguel drilled his fourth 3 of the half. Then, following Kyle Cuffe Jr. coughing the ball up, Julian Reese rattled home a second-chance layup. Finally, 11 seconds before halftime, Davis turned the ball over again, leading to Geronimo’s dunk.

The Orange’s turnover problems persisted in the second half, finishing with a new season-high 21. UMD scored 25 points off the turnovers.

3-point struggles persist

Syracuse’s 3-point struggles have been painfully obvious this season. Entering the game, the Orange ranked 345th in 3-point percentage with a 27.1% clip. Three games ago against Notre Dame, SU failed to make a triple for the first time in over a decade.

In the two games since then, the Orange shot 10-for-31 from 3. Though an inefficient 3-point shooter himself, Starling’s absence hasn’t helped. But SU’s biggest setback has been Bell failing to get anything going from 3. Last year, the forward shot 42.0% from distance. Entering Saturday, he was at 23.4%.

It took until the first half’s midway point for the Orange to make their first 3, courtesy of Lucas Taylor drilling an attempt from the top of the key. However, that was SU’s only made 3 in the first half. On numerous occasions, Bell had looks that he’d attempted and made in the past. Yet, he constantly dribbled inside the arc before attempting a contested shot. The forward finished the game with 2 points while shooting 0-for-1 from 3.

As SU finished the game 8-for-16 beyond the arc, most of which came in garbage time, Maryland was 12-for-27. The Terrapins were spearheaded by Miguel, who scored 24 points while shooting 6-for-9 from distance. After making four 3s in the first half, he instantly capitalized on back-to-back shots beyond the arc.

No standout scorers

In Starling’s absence, Syracuse has seen Freeman, Moore, Davis, Bell and Lampkin each step up. Though against Maryland, the Orange greatly struggled to find anyone to give them a lift. Freeman, whose 13.4 points per game are the most among healthy SU players, barely played in the first half because of two fouls.

Nobody else stepped up. Moore didn’t get going until the final minutes when the game was already over, finishing with 16 points. Davis had more turnovers (three) than field goal attempts (two) and barely played in the second half. Bell wasn’t himself and also hardly played in the second half. Meanwhile, Lampkin had a team-high six points at halftime but only added three in the final 20 minutes.

In the second half, SU’s main scorers continued to struggle for the most part. Off the bench, Cuffe became the first Syracuse player to reach double-digit points. The guard, who has seen his minutes increase in Starling’s absence, finished with 10 points while shooting 4-of-9 from the floor. Freeman also percolated in the second half, finishing with 15 points.

A major part of the Orange’s struggles was a lack of aggressiveness. They finished with just two free-throw attempts.

Published on December 21, 2024 at 1:59 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon