Syracuse moved to 3-0 on the season with a shaky performance against Youngstown State.

Here are the key takeaways from the game.

J.J. Starling should be in one of two roles on offense – driver or catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter. Starling’s 14-of-23 shooting day broke down as follows:

- 2-for-7 on 3’s

- 2-for-3 inside the arc, but outside the key

- 10-of-13 in the paint, including 9-of-11 in the restricted area

Both of Starling’s 3’s in the game were assisted by teammates, making all five of his makes on the season coming off passes. Last season, 39 of his 44 triples (88.6 percent) were assisted by Orange teammates.

Little things like this help, as SU is 17-of-67 from long range this season, good for 25.4 percent. Knowing the best opportunities and style of play will help, especially since this team has struggles in all three games against lower-level competition.

Donnie Freeman had an almost completely unnoticed 19-point, 12-rebound double-double. While Starling and Eddie Lampkin Jr. provided the highlights, Freeman put in a workman’s effort, including scoring nine points in enabling SU to take their first lead after halftime with nine points in just over nine minutes of second half play.

The bench did not provide a while lot of support to the starters, logging just 54 of the game’s 250 minutes on the court. Lucas Taylor had six points, but fouled out, including getting his last four infractions in a second half span of 3:18. Elijah Moore hit the second overtime triple that gave Syracuse the lead for good, but contributed little else in 16 minutes.

Lampkin playing 41 minutes is concerning, but the big man left it all on the floor. While not the fleetest afoot, Lampkin worked hard on defense, showing in pick-and-roll defense before hurrying back to his man after his teammate recovered. He also muscled through Penguin big man Gabe Dynes multiple times late in the game for scores.

While 18 ties and 17 lead changes sure make for a dramatic game, it certainly does not feel good when it comes against the team coming into the game ranked #183 in KenPom, also known as right in the middle of all of D-I teams.

Once again, the Orange defense was punctured inside by a much smaller team. After Colgate had 26 shots in the restricted area earlier this week, Youngstown State had 27 attempts in close. While Dynes is 7’3”, he had very little to do with that inside offensive attack, getting off one whole field goal attempt.

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