In the 125th meeting between Syracuse and Cornell, and the third battle of the Boeheims, the Orange prevailed. SU (3-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) outlasted Cornell (1-4), 72-53, in a sloppy, but familiar, matchup in the Carrier Dome. Jimmy Boeheim, SU head coach Jim Boeheim’s oldest child, shined for the Big Red and Buddy continued his emergence as the Orange’s second option.

Here are some takeaways from the third Boeheim bowl. 

Two brothers 

The third installment of a series rarely lives up to the standards of the first two, but Wednesday’s contest featured Jim Boeheim’s sons at their best. Both offenses were sparked by Jimmy and Buddy, respectively, who combined for 41 points, four rebounds and five assists. 

Two years ago, Jimmy kickstarted the Boeheim battle with a picturesque 3-pointer in front of the SU bench. Last year, he added 10 while Buddy notched a 3-pointer of his own. In what is most likely the third of four meetings, Buddy had the upper hand. 

The younger Boeheim relied on his dribble-drive for half-court offensive possessions. He shot at will, too, with a team-high 18 attempts. Jimmy, Cornell’s highest-average scorer (15.5 points), also facilitated offense from multiple spots around the zone. Buddy captured the individual highlight between the two, pump-faking Jimmy by away and swishing an open jumper in the final minute of the first half. 

Later in the game, with SU comfortably in control of the game in the final minutes, the brothers exchanged 3-pointers, garnering complimentary reactions from the crowd. 

Familiar, but not in a good way 

After Syracuse’s historic season-opening loss to Virginia, the Orange offense added an old circle offense motion to create spacing. The results followed, with SU averaging 80 points in the two contests that followed.

But on Wednesday night, facing one of the worst-defenses it’ll see all season, Syracuse’s shots didn’t fall, the offense sputtered and an upset was narrowly avoided. SU started the game with nine of its first 19 shots falling, then went one for its next nine. The ball stuck in the half-court, with none of Syracuse’s guards — Joe Girard III, Buddy and Brycen Goodine — finding consistent success. 

Jalen Carey, who’s out “indefinitely” with a right thumb injury, watched SU from the bench. The season’s starting point guard watched many possessions ended with contested mid-range jumpers. The Orange had multiple two-to-three minute stretches without a field goal, too. The lead eventually settled at double-digits with six minutes remaining, but not before another season-long question presented itself: Who will be SU’s second shot-creator?

#NotAgainSU 

Close to the 7 p.m. tip-off, as the marching band played the fight song and orange-clad fans cheered, Syracuse players jogged onto Jim Boeheim Court wearing a different warm-up shirt than usual. 

Two hours prior, the official team Twitter account announced that players would wear #NotAgainSU T-shirts pregame, supporting the students protesting the recent hate crimes on campus and the University’s response to the events. After a color guard carried the flag off the court, SU starters lifted the black material over their heads and readied for the game.

A few hundred yards from the Dome court, students and administrators met in Hendricks Chapel to discuss the movement’s demands. When Syracuse Chancellor Kent Syverud refused to sign a list of requests, protestors filed out of Hendricks and into the cold night. Meanwhile, fans in the student section chanted for Jimmy to air-ball a free throw. 

Published on November 20, 2019 at 9:38 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez