Syracuse Wins Opener over Fordham: What Orange Need to Improve on

A solid defensive effort sparked Jim Boeheim's Syracuse Orange to a 78-53 win in their regular season opener against Fordham. Although the Orange maintained a comfortable lead throughout most of the game, it's clear that there are several facets of the game that need improvement.

Let's give credit where credit is due: The Orange played superb, aggressive defense for most of the game. They contested and altered a slew of shots. On offense, they were equally aggressive, slashing to the hoop and creating opportunities. James Southerland and Dion Waiters both had impressive performances.

However, the offense suffered some lapses in rhythm. Syracuse's superior size and athleticism compensated for these lapses against Fordham, but they won't have that luxury against better opponents.

When the Orange offense got lackadaisical, it relied on Kris Joseph, Brandon Triche or Scoop Jardine to go one-on-one and do too much dribbling. The assist to turnover ratio was 15/15, a number Syracuse must improve upon against better defensive teams. They will want to keep the turnover numbers in the teens but get the assist numbers up to 20-plus.  

Orange post players Fab Melo, Rakeem Christmas and Baye Moussa Keita all attacked the basket well, but they must improve on their positioning and footwork. Rick Jackson will be sorely missed this season if the bigs don't step up offensively.

The inconsistency on offense is partly due to the deep roster still trying to figure out how to play together. Boeheim is still looking for the right combination of players and the best rotation.

On the defensive end, Syracuse had 11 steals and seven blocks on the night, but there are still some fundamentals that need refining. Fordham was able to get entry passes into the paint too easily, and sometimes Orange defenders were caught over-committing to the ball on the perimeter.

Orchestrating the proper weak-side defensive alignment in a zone isn't easy, so this is a process that will improve over time. Hopefully by mid-December Boeheim will have the 2-3 in top form and ready for conference play.

Lastly, the free-throw shooting still needs work. Going 11-18 from the line isn't quite where they want to be.

Syracuse should be happy with its aggressive play on both ends of the court, but they should also focus on becoming a more cohesive unit.