Five Takeaways: Syracuse 80 LSU 57

What to make of Orange basketball's win over the Tigers.

Syracuse men's basketball knocked off LSU 80-57 Tuesday night in the Dome. Here are five takeaways from the victory. 

1. Most Impressive of the Season

The first half was certainly ugly in a lot of ways, but the way Syracuse played in the final few minutes of the first as well as the entire second half was the most impressive of the season. Given its performance defensively, offensively (scoring 80 points and shooting 52% from three) and on the boards, it certainly appears as if Syracuse is improving. A credit to the players and the coaches for focusing on areas of weakness in previous games. The next step is to get JJ Starling more consistent offensively. 

2. Judah Mintz

Mintz set a career high with 33 points and flat out took over towards the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half. A personal 8-0 run to start the second half pushed the Orange lead to double digits and SU never looked back. Mintz was clearly the best player on the court in this one and LSU had no answer for him. When he plays like that, Syracuse can beat almost anyone. 

3. Chris Bell

Judah Mintz will get all of the headlines, and he certainly deserves his accolades. However, Bell was fantastic in this game. Not only did he score 20 points including going 6-10 from three point range, but he dished out three assists and had one of his better games of the season on the defensive end with one steal and one block. He is quickly becoming one of the better shooters in the ACC. 

4. Rebounding

Early in this game, it looked like it was going to be another ugly game on the boards. LSU dominated the glass through most of the first half, specifically on the offensive end. The Tigers racked up 12 offensive rebounds in the first half and outrebounded Syracuse by six overall. The second half, however, was a much different story. Whatever got into the Orange needs to continue. Syracuse outrebounded LSU 23-10 in the second half including holding the Tigers to just one offensive board. 

5. Defense

How good was the Syracuse defense Tuesday night? LSU's best player, Will Baker, was held to just three points. He was averaging 15 per game coming in. It was his first game in single digits this season. Syracuse held the Tigers to 2-22 shooting from three point range and forced 19 turnovers. This was the first game all season where there were not large stretches with defensive lapses. An encouraging sign moving forward. 

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