Will there be something to build on from the final 30 minutes?
At the under 8:00 minute timeout in the first half on Saturday, the Syracuse Orange trailed the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 31-16. From that point forward, Syracuse out-scored the Irish 61-38 and for the first time this season displayed some defensive intensity and it carried them to the comeback win.
Since he was hired, Adrian Autry has talked about establishing an identity, but we haven’t seen much of one on either end. The Orange haven’t featured an offense or defense that creates challenges for their opponent and it’s obviously been a source of frustration for the team and fans. All of the line-up shuffling this year has been in search of finding a group to establish some kind of identity.
On Saturday, the Orange might have decided that they can actually defend if they put forth the effort and follow the scouting report. After allowing the Irish to get 18 points in the paint in the first half, the Orange worked harder to keep Markus Burton and others out of the lane in the second half. Notre Dame still got 14 points in the paint, but the Irish were held to only five three-point attempts and missed all five.
Early in the game Burton came off screens and found open space in the lane where he was able to pull up for easier shots. In the second half, the Orange were more physical fighting through screens and when he did come off a pick, defenders challenged rather than retreating.
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In the last few weeks. we’ve seen Kyle Cuffe and Lucas Taylor earn more minutes due to their perimeter defense. On Saturday, it was Jaquan Carlos joining them, as he drew the assignment of chasing Braeden Shrewsberry and Carlos held the Irish shooter from getting loose like he did in South Bend.
The Orange helped their cause by cutting down their turnovers and keeping Notre Dame out of transition. They also used their size inside by feeding Lampkin and Davis down low and getting to the foul line. Usually teams make a big comeback by getting hot from 3, but that’s not likely for this Syracuse team, so they are going to have to embrace playing harder and playing smarter.
It’s not the season that anyone wanted, but there’s a lot of time left if this group decides it wants to dig in and make it tougher for their opponents.