NCAA Basketball: Villanova’s struggles, 2K Classic outcomes and other takeaways

7) Syracuse shouldn’t panic

The Orange went into Madison Square Garden as the No. 15 team in the country but will be unranked when the new week starts after going 0-2 in the 2K Empire Classic, losing to UConn and Oregon.

Syracuse looked flat in both performances and, given the buzz around this team coming into the season, both losses were significant blows to the fan base. However, unlike the case of Villanova and West Virginia, the Orange have no reason to panic.

First off, Syracuse didn’t have starting point guard Frank Howard in either game due to an ankle injury and the offense was incredibly out of sync without him. Backup Jalen Carey did post good individual numbers but struggled to control the game. When Howard returns, the Orange will look much more like the team we saw last year.

Furthermore, they were simply ice cold from the field, shooting less than 40 percent in each game. This has been a problem with them this year as they rank 322nd in effective field goal percentage and 344th in three-point percentage.

Syracuse wasn’t a good shooting team last year but was better than this. It simply seems like they’re in a rough spell. They’re still 33rd in adjusted offensive efficiency and have a great defense, ranking sixth in adjusted defensive efficiency. This was a bad week for the Orange but they’ll be fine.