Five Takeaways: Clemson 90 Syracuse 75

What to make of Orange basketball's loss to the Tigers.

Syracuse basketball fell 90-75 at Clemson Tuesday night. Here are five takeaways from the loss. 

1. Defense

Syracuse simply has no answer for Clemson. It is a really bad matchup with the Tigers' two bigs in PJ Hall and Ian Schieffelin. Those two combined for 41 points and 22 rebounds Tuesday night and got whatever they wanted inside. Clemson shot 56% from the floor and 42% from three point range. This after shooting 61% and 43% in the Dome last month. Giving up 90 points makes it really tough to win. Then, even with the dominance inside, it felt like every time Syracuse got close Clemson would hit a big three. 

2. Chris Bell

The good news is that Syracuse scored 75 points with Chris Bell only scoring seven. The bad news is that Bell played 37 minutes and only took six shots. Now Clemson was focusing a lot of its defensive efforts on limiting Bell's looks, but Syracuse has to figure out a way to get him more opportunities. Especially in the first half when there were large stretches where the Orange struggled to score. Specifically in the last four to five minutes. 

3. Offense

Syracuse continued its solid play offensively, shooting 47% overall and 36% from three while scoring 75 points. That is enough to win on the road with a solid defensive effort. That said, it is still about putting together two halves. Syracuse scored 45 points in the second half but just 30 in the first. Two halves like the second and this is a very close game with the outcome in doubt down the stretch. 

4. Rebounding

Despite Clemson's significant size advantage, Syracuse actually held its own on the boards. The Tigers won that battle 33 to 26, and most of that advantage came in the first half. That was not the reason Syracuse lost. It was a big improvement from the first meeting when Clemson outrebounded SU by 17. A solid effort in this area and one that was good enough to be competitive. 

5. Blow to NCAA Tournament Hopes

Most realistic scenarios that saw Syracuse fighting its way onto the right side of the bubble started with a win at Clemson. Now the Orange may have to make the ACC Tournament Finals to feel good about where it stands. How does it do that? I think the best way is to avoid Clemson. The Tigers are just a really bad matchup as Syracuse does not have the size to combat with Clemson's two bigs inside. With Wake Forest losing to Georgia Tech, the Orange's seed in the ACC Tournament is very much up in the air. There are multiple scenarios that could see Syracuse as the five, six or seven seed. The best bet for SU may be to be the six. That would mean avoiding Clemson in the quarterfinals and setting up a matchup with Virginia. Then either Duke or North Carolina in the semis. No road is easy, but avoiding the most difficult matchup, Clemson, would be ideal. Either way, by losing Tuesday night, there is significant work left to do.