Impact Performers from Syracuse’s Loss to Rutgers

Despite Syracuse's first loss, many of their players have performed well to start the season.

For the first time since January 29, 2003 the Orange fell to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. It has been seven years since the former Big East rivals last met. Syracuse’s 17-year win streak came to an end last night when Syracuse lost 79-69.

The Orange had no answer for Rutgers and their star guard Ron Harper Jr., who dropped 26 points and grabbed 7 boards in 38 minutes of action. Despite not being able to contain Harper Jr. there were several players who performed well for the Orange.

With Buddy Boeheim sidelined due to COVID-19 exposure and Joe Girard III struggling to score, other players have needed to step up in their absence. Sophomore Quincey Guerrier has been averaging 16.8 points and 9.3 rebounds in 31 minutes of action per game to start the season.

The Orange shot just 7-26 from beyond the arc against Rutgers, but Guerrier provided some spark hitting 3-5 of his attempts. Coach Boeheim has been giving Guerrier some big minutes as he is a big reason Syracuse has jumped out to a 3-1 start.

“Quincey, we’ve known that he can make threes. He showed tonight that he can do it in games,” Boeheim said.

Syracuse needs to improve their three-point shooting if they want to compete with the top ranked teams. They will need many of the young guns to step up until Buddy Boeheim and Bourama Sidibe return. Freshmen Kadary Richmond has shown he can definitely compete, averaging a solid 28 minutes on the floor per game.

Coach Boeheim discussed in the postgame press conference how Richmond has made a lot of big strides. The early games have put him in a lot of good situations to get good experience under his belt. Richmond has shown he can step-up when other players on the roster go down, due to injury or the ongoing pandemic.

Another player who has really stood out for the Orange through the first four games has been Junior transfer Alan Griffin. Griffin led the way against Rutgers, knocking down 20 points and coming up just two rebounds shy of a double double. Coach Boeheim has been very impressed with Griffin’s impact and commitment to the Orange through the first four games.

“He’s a tremendous offensive player. He’s just learning all the different things we do and he’s learning two positions. The two and the three, which is very difficult.”

Griffin has been doing his part to contribute averaging 16.8 points 7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 33.8 minutes of action for the Orange so far this season. The combo guard has been showing why Syracuse did everything they could to bring him here for the last two years of his collegiate career.

Look for these players to continue to provide some big minutes for the Orange, as they travel to visit Boston College on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 PM EST.