Syracuse men’s basketball: three takeaways from the win over UAlbany

A lot to like about the offense, the defense well…..

The Syracuse Orange (6-4) got off to another slow start against UAlbany, but dominated the middle twenty minutes on their way to a win. Here are three takeaways from the game:

Unselfish Offense

The Orange executed a several nice offensive sets in the first half: a back screen for a Donnie Freeman alley-oop, a back cut by Chris Bell to get a feed from Eddie Lampkin and some nice interior passing from Lampkin to get easy baskets for Freeman and Jyare Davis. After what we’ve watched the last couple of weeks, it was a welcome sight to see players and the ball moving.

Syracuse ended the game shooting 63.5% and had 23 assists on 40 made field goals. Jaquan Carlos led the way with 12 assists as he controlled the offense and got the ball to players in the right spot. The Orange didn’t shoot well from deep, but they pushed the pace when they had a chance and forced the ball into the paint against a smaller UAlbany squad.

Ball movement doesn’t have to come just from the point guard driving and dishing and hopefully the Orange don’t forget this moving forward.

Cuffe (ing) Season arrives

Kyle Cuffe had a season-high 10 points in the first half. He was part of a group with Carlos, Taylor, Freeman and Mastorevic that brought energy and had a stretch for 5 straight makes to open up a double-digit lead.

Cuffe entered the game with 5 points on the season but after making his first two shots from deep, he attacked the basket and got to the line. Many Orange fans have been clamoring for more minutes for the guard and if he can knock down shots like he did last night, he’ll earn more time.

Chris Bell gets involved

The Syracuse junior was 0-3 from beyond the arc, but he did more of what fans have been asking. Bell didn’t let his shooting impact his energy as he was willing to move without the ball and use his size down low to finish with 18 points on 6-13 shooting from the field, and 6-6 from the foul line.

He used his size to finish at the rim and draw contact and knocked down some mid-range shots. It was nice to see him be more aggressive and take advantage when he was chased off the three-point line. Bell added 6 rebounds in his 26 minutes, including an offensive board and putback. With JJ Starling likely out a few more weeks, the Orange are going to need Bell’s offense and hopefully this game gets him going in the right direction.