Syracuse narrowly defeated Colgate, 74-72, on Tuesday at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Three storylines emerged from the win.
Rebounding improvement
Last year, Syracuse averaged just 33 rebounds per game, which made it the 59th-worst rebounding team in Division I.
Head coach Adrian Autry made it a point to improve on that in the offseason via the transfer portal, adding players like Eddie Lampkin and Jyare Davis.
Though two games, Autry's team has shown improvement, averaging 44 rebounds.
On Tuesday, Syracuse hauled in 45 rebounds, 11 on offensive rebounds.
On the season, SU is up to 31 offensive rebounds this season, but that hasn't resulted in more offense.
“We’ve gotten 31 offense rebounds in the first 20 games, and we only got 20 points out of it," Autry said. "That’s the problem. We gotta finish better down there.”
Lampkin led Syracuse with 12 rebounds to go with 15 points for his first double-double with the Orange.
“Just pushing the guys to crash the boards," Lampkin said of the surge in rebounding. "And the 4 and the 5 gotta go to the rim every time.”
Transition D sluggish
Autry expressed concern in Syracuse's transition defense, which gave up 22 points to the Raiders.
On one such play in the second half, Parker Jones stripped Jaqun Carlos and hit a pair of free throws after he was fouled by Petar Majstorovic in transition. That cut Syracuse's lead down to 55-50 after the Orange had led by as many as 13.
It was part of a 16-4 run that Autry made a point to comment on after the game.
"We didn't do a good job in transition," Autry said. "We are still trying to figure things out."
That has led to a defense that is 144th in the country according to KenPom. Le Moyne shot 49 percent from the the field, and though Colgate shot 42 percent, they turned the ball over just six times.
Free throws were not free
With just 23 seconds left, Syracuse clung to a 74-72 lead with Jyáre Davis at the the line.
He missed a front end of a 1-and-1, part of a recurring theme.
After Colgate’s Jalen Cox missed a 2-point jumper, Davis grabbed the rebound and headed to the line with a chance for redemption. But missed the first free throw again.
Luckily for Davis, Lucas Taylor flew in, grabbed an offensive rebound, and was fouled.
But Taylor, too, missed a free throw.
Colgate wasn't able to get a shot off as time expired, but it highlighted another concerning area for the Orange.
Syracuse finished shooting just 50 percent from the line. Only Chris Bell hit any free throws in the second half.
“I would love for us to make those free throws," Autry said. "But we didn't. We didn’t. That’s just the way the ball bounces.”
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