THE BASICS
Syracuse travels to Clemson, South Carolina hanging on to NCAA Tournament hopes as they face Joe Girard and the Tigers for the second time this season.
The Orange have won 5 of their 6 games since that Clemson loss.
Clemson has been playing fine, but has not really impressed anyone as of late. They are coming off a 62-69 loss at Notre Dame.
Keys for Syracuse?
Continued consistency from Quadir Copeland and Chris Bell
Find a way to minimize Clemson inside
Turn a steady-handed Clemson team over
ABOUT THE TIGERS
Non-Conference Wins: (8) Alabama, (32) TCU, (35) Boise State, (43) South Carolina, (106) Davidson, (134) UAB, (163) Winthrop, (226) Radford, (265) Queens, (290) Alcorn State
Non-Conference Losses: (72) Memphis
ACC Wins: (9) UNC, (44) Pittsburgh, (44) Pittsburgh (79) Syracuse, (88) Florida State, (88) Florida State, (92) Miami, (98) Boston College, (130) Georgia Tech, (195) Louisville
ACC Losses: (7) Duke, (9) UNC, (52) Virginia Tech, (69) UVA, (76) NC State, (92) Miami, (122) Notre Dame, (130) Georgia Tech
What are they good at (Top 5 in ACC games)
2nd - FT%
3rd - Offensive Efficiency
3rd - Offensive 2P%
3rd - Defensive 2P%
4th - Offensive Turnover Rate
5th - Defensive EFG%
What are they not good at (Bottom 5 in ACC games)
14th - Defensive Turnover Rate
13th - Offensive 3P%
NOTABLE NATIONAL RANKS:
23rd ranked offense; 51st ranked defense
346th (out of 363) at forcing turnovers
43rd in 2P% and 33rd in 2P% Defense
16th best free throw shooting team in the country
KEY PERSONNEL AND STATS
Here’s a quick look at the condensed game of their loss at Notre Dame on Saturday:
BASIC MATCHUP STATS
**Stats are from EVERY game of the season - not just ACC games**
What stands out?
ADVANCED MATCHUP STATS
Here are the interesting stat matchups:
There aren’t a ton of massively glaring advantage/disadvantage statistics between the two teams. Yes, Clemson is better statistically, but it’s not by a dominant amount as some other teams we’ve seen this year.
However, there are two big stat differences that stand out:
Syracuse turns teams over at the 2nd highest rate in ACC play; Clemson only turns it over at the 4th highest rate
Clemson, even with Joe Girard, is the 13th best three-point shooting team in conference play; Syracuse is 14th in defending the 3 point line
Clemson has the 3rd best 2P%; Syracuse has the worst 2P% defense
3 PIECES OF GOOD NEWS FOR SU
Momentum is rolling and this game probably means a little more to SU
Clemson has struggled with playmaking guards
Syracuse turned the Tigers over a ton last time they met
3 PIECES OF BAD NEWS FOR SU
The Clemson bigs are a problem
Clemson scores well from 2 and Syracuse does not defend well from 2
It’s senior night and it’s at Clemson
BURNING QUESTIONS
Can Syracuse continue to produce offensively like they have been? Or will they start to revert to the mean?
How will Syracuse handle the pressure of this “must-win” game?
Will Syracuse turn Clemson over (who are usually steady with the ball) like they did in their last matchup?
WHAT HAPPENS WITH A WIN?
Syracuse will be directly on the bubble.
WHAT HAPPENS WITH A LOSS?
Syracuse will need to work some serious magic to make the NCAA Tournament
WHAT’S NEXT?
Syracuse is the only team off this Saturday, so they will get to watch their bracket spot unfold before their very eyes. They will likely get a single by and finish anywhere from 5th-7th or so.
Keep the faith!
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