Three takeaways from Syracuse’s 74-69 win over Georgetown

The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team handled the Georgetown Hoyas by a final score of 74-69 inside the Carrier Dome on Saturday. The Orange took a 52-44 lead in the all-time series and evened the score 3-3 since Syracuse left the Big East.

Buddy Boeheim led the way for SU with 21 points and five rebounds while his backcourt mate Joe Girard scored 18 points and dished out eight assists.

Syracuse took a 43-30 lead into the half, but Georgetown used a series of runs to make it close down the stretch. The Hoyas were never able to take the lead, however, and after some theatrics Syracuse earned the win to move to 7-2 on the season.

To the takeaways.

Rebounds tell the story

Syracuse out-rebounded Georgetown 38-32 in the win. The Orange are now 7-0 in games it out-rebounds its opponents and 0-2 in games when it gets out-rebounded. Giving up rebounds should be expected in the 2-3 zone, but the Orange have proven that rebounding has an effect in the W-L column.

Syracuse held a 23-11 rebounding edge in the first half and took a 43-30 edge into the lead. Georgetown edged that gap in the second half and cut into Syracuse’s lead. Rebounding is a storyline to follow for this team moving forward.

Drive the ball

After taking 38 threes against Pittsburgh and only connecting on on 12 (31.6%), Syracuse looked to take the ball off the bounce more against Georgetown. The Orange still took threes against Georgetown, shooting 9-22 from distance, but the was more judicious in its attempts.

Pittsburgh was able to complete the comeback as Syracuse was content to take tough, contested threes down the stretch in that game. The Orange didn’t do that on Saturday and came out with the win.

Big Bad Bobby Braswell

Robert Braswell has taken advantage of his playing time in the last two games. He scored 12 points against Pittsburgh by shooting 4-5 from distance. Against Georgetown he might’ve only scored three points, but his impact was felt on the defensive end with three steals and a timely block.

Clinging to a four point lead with 5:22 to play, Syracuse’s biggest play of the game came from redshirt sophomore Robert Braswell. With Georgetown running in transition, the former South Carolina high jump champion leaped and sent Georgetown’s shot off the backboard.

On the ensuing offensive possession, Buddy Boeheim connected on a three to give Syracuse a three possession lead. That play changed momentum and gave Syracuse a comfortable cushion down the stretch. In the post-game Zoom, Jim Boeheim referred to it as the biggest play of the game and mentioned that Braswell is the best forward in terms of rotating in the back of the zone.

Has Braswell earned himself a spot in the rotation as the first forward off the bench?

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