ACC Basketball power rankings: Wake Forest rises, Virginia slides down
445. . 6-5 (1-0). . Orange . 8. team
Before they went on a covid pause, the Orange had lost two straight games, including to former Big East foes, Villanova and Georgetown. The loss to the Hoyas was problematic for their resume but with hopefully covid issues behind them, the team has gotten back on the court this week in a 31-point victory over Brown, led by 28 points from Buddy Boeheim.
The issue hasn’t been Buddy (18.5 ppg) or his brother and Cornell transfer Jimmy Boeheim (14.0 ppg) on offense but the fact that Syracuse only has five capable scorers on the roster limits their overall ceiling. Joe Girard and forwards Jesse Edwards and Cole Swider each average over 12.0 ppg but no one else scores over 2.0 ppg. And the team is very three-point reliant so if they don’t shoot the ball well, their odds of winning decrease by a lot.
The other issue is that the zone defense hasn’t caused the opponents many problems. They rank in the bottom-25 in points allowed at 77.9 ppg and even if you take away the 110 points against Indiana in double-overtime, they still allowed 79 points to a bad Georgetown team.
The offense for the Orange is good enough to keep them in most games but the defense is bad enough for them to lose most games as well, which is why a spot in the very middle is consistent with what this team warrants.