Five Takeaways: Syracuse 89 Canisius 77

What to make of the Orange's win over the Golden Griffins.

Syracuse topped Canisius 89-77 Wednesday night to start the season 2-0. Here are five takeaways from the victory. 

1. Mintz & Starling

JJ Starling and Judah Mintz looked much more comfortable playing together and were much more efficient offensively. After going 3-13 in the season opener, Starling was 8-15 against Canisius. Similarly, Mintz was 5-15 against New Hampshire and 8-15 in this one. Each played at least 35 minutes and combined to score 43 points with 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Mintz had some rough moments early when he thought he got fouled, but really turned it on in the second half. It was encouraging to see him go 2-3 from three point range as well. Starling was 0-2 from deep but had a reputation as a good shooter in high school. The hope is that his shooting comes around as the season progresses.

2. Naheem McLeod

McLeod may have only played 18 minutes, but he looked every bit the part of what this team needs. A rim protector in the middle. McLeod blocked five shots, altered several others, got a couple of deflects and grabbed nine rebounds. His career high for blocks in a game is six and he likely would have eclipsed that with more time on the floor. That said, it was good to see him have a strong outing as he will be needed in Maui.

3. Defense

While the season opener showed flashes of elite level defense, this game did not have much of that. Canisius moved the ball well against Syracuse, was able to drive and get good looks both inside and from beyond the arc. Canisius shot over 48% from the floor and over 45% from three point range. I think Canisius is a solid club that will be competitive within its conference. However, Syracuse’s defense needs to be better and will lose a lot of games when it gives up those splits.

4. Rebounding

What Canisius is not is a very big team. Despite that, Syracuse was tied by the Golden Griffins on the boards. The Orange gave up too many offensive rebounds (16) which led to 16 second chance points. The Orange also allowed 42 points in the paint. That combined with only 12 turnovers forced by SU means it was not the best defensive performance overall. They will grow into that as the season goes as I believe there is too much defensive potential on this team for this to be the norm. We will see how they respond against Colgate.

5. Outside Shooting

This was a much better outside shooting performance for Syracuse. The Orange only took 10 three, but made seven of them (37%). Syracuse does not have to be an elite outside shooting team but at least has to be representative. Make open shots when those opportunities present themselves. That keeps defenses honest and allows room for Mintz and Starling to get into the lane. Three different players made at least two three pointers and a fourth hit one. The next step is getting something from Starling in that realm.

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