Syracuse basketball picked up an 82-76 won at Louisville Saturday night. Here are five takeaways from the victory.
1. Chris Bell
Chris Bell had a tremendous game. One that head coach Adrian Autry said afterwards was his best in a Syracuse uniform. That is not because he scored 23 points and was 3-5 from three point range. It was because he was better off the dribble, he got to the foul line nine times, had seven rebounds and three blocks. It was his physicality on the defensive end, including two chase down blocks, that made this his best performance. If he can be more consistent defensively and on the boards, he becomes a really dynamic player. Bell has been that over the last several games, which is part of the reason Syracuse has won five of six.
2. Twenty Wins
This is the first time Syracuse has won 20 games in the regular season since the 2013-14 campaign. Regardless of what happens with the Orange in the postseason, that is a tremendous accomplishment for head coach Adrian Autry in his first year. Especially considering he lost his starting center, lost what was supposed to be his veteran leader and starting power forward, and has not had Chance Westry all season. The depth and lineup versatility that he was supposed to be afforded never materialized. Yet he has still led the best season Syracuse has had in a decade. Quite a strong year all things considered.
3. Defense
The Syracuse defense held Louisville to just 44% shooting and 21% from three point range. The Orange also forced 13 turnovers. The second half defense was not as good as the first, giving up 48 points and 51% shooting. In the first Louisville scored just 28 while shooting 37%. Still, it was a drastic improvement from the first meeting when the Orange gave up 92 points. Syracuse recorded nine steals, including three from Maliq Brown. Brown leads the ACC in steals per game. Not bad for a starting center.
4. Justin Taylor
Taylor continues his string of solid games with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in 40 minutes. The only area he really struggled was free throws. He started the game 1-5 and then went to the line late with a chance to essentially put the game away. He made four of six in the final minute to do just that. There is still work to do with his shot, as it is clearly a mental thing. He air-balled a midrange jumper and missed four of his first five free throws. That said, he is doing a good job of finding other ways to score and be productive. Over his last four games, Taylor is averaging seven points per game while shooting 83% from the floor.
5. NCAA Tournament Resume
This win is not going to help the resume as it does not move the needle. It is not a quality win, but avoids a disastrous loss. This sets up a meaningful game at Clemson. That said, Syracuse dropped two spots in the NET after winning. This despite winning by more than the spread on the road and the Georgia Tech loss moving from quad three to quad two. Having fewer bad losses should help a resume as should winning by more than the spread on the road. Instead, it hurt Syracuse. The NET is a very flawed metric, but the NCAA is going to use it. There is almost no scenario where Syracuse's NET moves up enough to compare with other bubble teams. So, the Orange just has to keep winning. The rest of the metrics (wins, quad one and two wins, road wins, strength of schedule, strength of record) are positives for SU. Keep winning and see what happens.
BONUS NOTE
Syracuse has been clicking offensively over the last six games. The Orange has scored over 80 points in five of those games, shooting over 50% in five of them as well. If they continue playing this well while limiting turnovers, Syracuse will be tough to beat.
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