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After the Orange’s offense had a sluggish start Tuesday night at Rutgers, Syracuse came out and tore apart the Boston College defense in the first half. SU was held to 30 in the opening frame against Rutgers, but by halftime, the Orange had 48 points and an 18-point lead.

Much like both meetings with Boston College last year, Syracuse had no issues dispatching the Eagles. Syracuse (4-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) made eight first-half 3s, assisted on 13 of 16 first-half baskets and put the game away in 20 minutes to earn its first ACC win against Boston College (1-5, 0-1) 101-63 on Saturday afternoon at Conte Forum.

The Orange made a program-record 16 3s and posted their biggest ACC winning margin since joining the conference.

Buddy Boeheim returns from contact tracing

Buddy Boeheim needed less than three minutes to announce his return to the Orange’s starting lineup following a three-game absence due to quarantine. Buddy spotted up and hit two 3s to start the game. First, he caught a pass at the top of the key before setting his feet and firing to put the Orange up 5-0. Then, he found himself in the corner and didn’t miss from there, either.

The junior guard spent the quarantine period working out and shooting at home. He was cleared from quarantine on Thursday and practiced with the team for two days prior to the game.

It appeared that head coach Jim Boeheim was not worried about Buddy’s conditioning, given that he played him 17 minutes in the opening frame and 25 in total. Only when the game was out of reach did Boeheim pull his son for an extended period.

Even though Buddy came up short on a few other jump shots and missed all five of his final attempts in the opening half, his activity on defense in the 2-3 zone helped prevent Boston College’s guards from dribbling into the paint. On the opening possession of the second half, Buddy stole the ball off the Eagles and led the fast break before assisting Joe Girard III on the lay-up.

He finished the game with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field.

Marek Dolezaj’s assists unlock the Syracuse offense

Marek Dolezaj is battling a right wrist injury, and he had his hand taped up during the game. Before the game, SU head trainer Brad Pike said that Dolezaj injured his wrist against Rutgers.

He didn’t do much shooting from the field, attempting three shots in the opening half. But Dolezaj’s passing vision and ball handling abilities helped facilitate the Orange’s decimation of the BC defense.

When the Eagles tried to press, Dolezaj stepped into the back court to help Girard avoid a double team. He ran the floor and fed Quincy Guerrier for the lay-up and a foul. He often popped up at the free-throw line to receive the ball and pass to open shooters on the wings.

Dolezaj would sometimes vacate the lane completely to create space for Guerrier to run the lane. It seemed to befuddle the Boston College defense, who couldn’t cope with Guerrier in the middle or the exterior shooting for the Orange. Dolezaj posted six first-half assists and finished with seven in total.

When Buddy missed a long 3, Dolezaj’s quick feet enabled him to slide across the lane to secure the offensive rebound and tip the ball to Griffin for the open look.

Girard with an improved all-around showing

When the Orange’s offense stagnated against Rutgers, Kadary Richmond became a much bigger part of the Orange offense. Richmond often brought the ball up to deal with the Scarlet Knights’ ball pressure. Some called for him to start over Girard when ACC play opened Saturday.

Girard finished 1-of-6 from 3 in that game on Tuesday, and Boeheim didn’t mince words when asked about his sophomore’s overall play.

“They drove in on Joe consistently all night,” Boeheim said after Rutgers. “He can’t get lost up in the fact he’s having a bad offensive game and let it affect his defense. He’s got to be better on defense, period.”

Girard was excellent at both ends of the floor on Saturday. He reclaimed his spot at the point guard position with efficient offense and improved defense. He had multiple deflections and a steal, got out in transition, and made 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. The sophomore finished with 17 points.

He also tallied five assists and five defensive rebounds to help the Orange build a 36-point lead with 12 minutes to play. While Richmond has impressed in his action at the point guard position, Boeheim made it clear with the minutes breakdown that Girard and Buddy will again be the starters in the Syracuse back court.

Published on December 12, 2020 at 3:16 pm

Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo