The Syracuse Orange hasn’t had the most impressive offensive start to the season, by any metric. But back home in the Carrier Dome, the Orange got a glimpse that it could be worse.
A lot worse.
The Loyola Greyhounds missed their first 13 shots of the game, unable to make a field goal until more than halfway into the first half. Tyler Hubbard finally ended the scoring drought with a long three-pointer from the top of the key at the 8:32 mark. By then, the Orange led 17-4.
And Syracuse fans thought their offense was bad.
The Orange (4-1) rebounded from a disappointing third place finish in the 2K Classic and dominated the Greyhounds in an easy 70-37 home victory on Tuesday night. It was the perfect win at the perfect time for Jim Boeheim’s beleaguered bunch. Coming off a disappointing trip to Madison Square Garden, the Orange saw its offense shoot a season-high 52 percent, while holding the Greyhounds to just 19 percent from the floor.
"I think our defense is getting better," Boeheim said. "It’s still got to get a lot better. We got a lot of things to work on and we just got to keep working hard and hopefully, eventually, we’ll get there."
Rakeem Christmas scored 19 points – his fourth of five games in double figures – and had nine rebounds, six blocks and two assists. Chris McCullough continued his torrid start to the season with 17 points on 6-7 shooting. That front-court duo has now been responsible for about 45 percent of Syracuse’s scoring and, once again, bailed out the team on a night when its outside shooting wasn’t a reliable option. Syracuse used its height advantage to dominate in the paint, while Loyola was forced to shoot 28 three-pointers.
The Orange never trailed – and the Greyhounds never threatened that lead – after a lopsided start to the game. Kaleb Joseph scored first for Syracuse when he intercepted a pass and drove coast-to-coast for a dunk. Then McCullough dunked a few minutes later when B.J. Johnson drove to the lane and drew a couple defenders away from the hoop. It was part of a 14-0 run by Syracuse to start the game.
But Boeheim spent much of the first half yelling and barking out orders from the bench. And he had good reason to. Even though Loyola shot just 15 percent in the first half, the Orange got beat up on the defensive glass and only led 28-16 at intermission.
"Your defense has to be something that you’re going to hang your hat on and it’s something that we do and it’s something that has to get better," guard Trevor Cooney said.
Syracuse took full control, however, when Loyola missed its first nine shots of the half. Eric Laster hit a three-pointer with 12:09 remaining but, by then, the Greyhounds’ 12 point halftime deficit expanded to 20.
And the Orange was well on its way to its 54th straight non-conference home victory.
"We have to do a better job at running the floor, getting ahead out on the break," Joseph said. "But I think in the second half today, we did that a lot better. Guys have to be aggressive and be confident out there and take their shots that they know they can make."
Added Joseph, " I think that as the season goes on, we’re going to get even better."