ATLANTA — After losing to Iowa by 14 on Dec. 3, several Syracuse players said they needed to have more fun. They said it in the locker room to the media, and then they said it again in one of their apartments where Howard Washington called a team meeting. 

On the night of Syracuse’s off day following its third-straight loss, the Syracuse players spoke up to each other about what needed change. They needed to not play so tight. To find the offensive rhythm it lacked over the past two weeks. They vowed to each other they’d play more free. 

“That’s what we needed,” Washington said of why he called the meeting. “We were kind of, not breaking apart but it felt like that, and we just needed it.”

It showed on Saturday afternoon in the McCamish Pavilion as Syracuse routed Georgia Tech 97-63. Elijah Hughes started the game 4-for-4 on 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 33 points while Buddy Boeheim added a career-high 26 of his own to spark an offense that’s held the Orange (5-4, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) back in previous games. 

Coming off the worst eight-game stretch to start a season in Jim Boeheim’s career, both he and his players relayed the same message: The offense needed to improve. For a few weeks, they’d all promised the shots would fall. The shooters were good enough, it just wasn’t coming together. Against Georgia Tech (4-3, 1-1), the Orange sank 14-of-33 3-pointers and shot 51% from the field overall. It’s what the offense can look like when shoots are falling and led to Syracuse’s first win against a high-major opponent this season. 

“We needed this as a team,” Buddy said. “We’ve been losing and we haven’t really…we just amped the intensity even more.”

The Orange came three points shy of the century mark against a defense that’s stifled them in the past. SU entered Saturday’s matchup 1-3 against current Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner and had scored more than 65 points just once. Through six games, Georgia Tech ranked 24th nationally in adjusted defense per Kenpom.com, limiting opponents to 27% shooting from beyond the arc. 

But Georgia Tech switched out of its matchup zone defense quickly once Hughes started the game on fire. Much of the first half became Hughes scoring at will or Bourama Sidibe and Marek Dolezaj providing Syracuse second-chance opportunities off the glass. 

“When we got them out of the zone and put them in the man,” Hughes said, “(there was) a lot of space for the shooters on the floor, a lot of opportunities to get in the lane.”

Washington noted that Georgia Tech didn’t pressure the ball the same amount as some other defenses the Orange had played. Syracuse wanted to flood certain areas near the corner to force an open man in the Georgia Tech zone. It played out as planned: the open man, often Buddy or Hughes and sometimes Girard, sank clean looks.

Dennis Nett | Syracuse.com

What started as a Hughes takeover became more than that. Parts of the Syracuse offense —rebounding, transition scoring and 3-point shooting — combined for an output Syracuse hadn’t shown against a high-major team this season. Several times in the second half, Syracuse scored in transition and often looked for Buddy spotting up along the arc. 

Transition helps for shooters like himself because the defense isn’t set, Buddy noted, so as he finds a spot along the 3-point line it’s harder for defenses to identify him. In the second half, with his momentum falling forward on a pass from Hughes, Buddy quickly set both feet and drilled a 3-pointer from the wing. It’s a shot he’s made when he’s playing his best, but hasn’t hit much this season.

“That’s something I’ve been working on,” Buddy said. “That’s definitely a tough shot as a shooter…we want to get out and run and transition buckets are important for us.” 

On Saturday, Buddy poured in 3-pointers, turnaround elbow jumpers and layups in transition. At one point, he smiled with Hughes after a made 3 from the wing. The shots, the ones they said were coming, were finally falling. 

“We told our guys those two guys (Buddy and Hughes), you cannot give an inch,” Pastner said. “They were a house on fire. It was like standing on the pier shooting the ocean and they were just on fire.” 

Joe Girard III and Washington, who came in first off the bench at guard rather than Brycen Goodine, sparked offense too. Pushing the ball in transition and creating separation were the two biggest areas Syracuse needed to improve, Girard noted after the Iowa loss. And that’s what the guards did against Georgia Tech. Girard and Washington were both key in beating Georgia Tech’s press in the second half.

What started as a hot start from Syracuse just never cooled off. Girard sank two three-pointers. Washington dished eight assists. Sidibe snagged eight rebounds and garnered positive postgame remarks from Boeheim, a rarity in the early going this season. 

It was that kind of afternoon for Syracuse. The kind of afternoon where everything comes together, after it all seemed so disjointed. On the first weekend of December, when Syracuse’s flaws seemed to be so repetitive and egregious they’d be inescapable, the Orange showed the team they can be. 

Published on December 7, 2019 at 2:07 pm

Contact Josh: jlschafe@syr.edu | @Schafer_44