Syracuse-Richmond: Orange Backcourt Stomps Spiders

I wrote a few days ago in my Syracuse season preview that the Orange backcourt would be the strength that led the team back to the NCAA tournament.

It may only be the second game of the season, but after watching tonight's game against Richmond, my prediction couldn't have been more right.

Trailing by seven at halftime to a Spiders team that will likely finish the season with no more than 15 wins and finish in the middle of the pack of an Atlantic-10 Conference that was a thorn to the Orange last season, Syracuse needed 11 straight points from Eric Devendorf to come out with a 19-6 run to start the second half.

Point guard Jonny Flynn led the Orange with 27, as he and Devendorf combined for 49 points, offsetting an 0-for-7 from backup guard Andy Rautins and a total of three points from the Syracuse bench.

Jim Boeheim's 2-3 zone defense let the Spiders get a lot of open looks as David Gonzalvez and his teammates shot 7-for-12 from three-point range in the first half. Mental lapses and slow rotations, coupled with a number of missed layups, dunks, and short jumpers, surely had the Orange thinking what needed to change after halftime.

After switching to more of a man-to-man defense in the second half, the Orange outscored the Spiders 45-33 in the final 20 minutes, getting all their points in the half from Devendorf, Flynn, and Arinze Onuaku. Onuaku shot 8-for-11 from the floor, scoring 17 points and grabbing six rebounds—five of them on the offensive glass.

It wasn't the prettiest win for the Orange, but they couldn't afford another non-conference loss at home to a team they should beat.

There were several positives and negatives to take from the game. We learned:

- Eric Devendorf may not quite be 100 percent, but his enthusiasm and tough, clutch mentality remains intact. He's probably 95 percent right now.

- Andy Rautins needs to shake off the rust. The best three-point shooter from two years ago missed all seven of his shots and five from three-point range.

- Jonny Flynn should be in the early consideration for Big East Player of the Year. He led the league in minutes played last year (39-plus per game), and with backcourt help, he should get a little more rest so he's still got legs at the end of the conference schedule.

- The announcers mentioned something that I had noted in my preview about Boeheim's use of bench players: He saw the value of getting 12 guys playing time as an assistant for the US Olympic team in Beijing this summer. The starters were rested and were fresh when they needed to come in.

JB doesn't have D-Wade and Chris Bosh on his bench, but he'll need to trust Rick Jackson to back up Onuaku down low, and Kris Joseph has the talent to be the Billy Edelin/Josh Pace guy off the bench, and potentially a starter come conference play.

- The defensive intensity has to get better. The Orange can't let too many teams get into the game by giving them open threes.

- Free throw shooting is often an issue for Syracuse and could've made the game a bit easier today. Flynn missed five from the charity stripe, including three in crunch time. After making the defense pay, he missed a chance for a three-point play and a minute later missed a pair that could've put the Orange up by eight.

As an Orange fan, they made me nervous watching this game because they got behind early and didn't quite shut the door at the end once they got an 11-point lead at 69-58. However, they made enough free throws and big shots in the second half to overcome a poor start and a hungry underdog trying to pull another upset.

Next up: Oakland visits the Carrier Dome on Friday at 7PM Eastern.