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Devan Cambridge held his hand in the air just a little longer, after his shot already fell through the net. Cole Swider, the Syracuse defender Cambridge elevated over, had already started back down the court. His shot with 4:41 left in the second half extended Auburn’s lead back to 16, following a brief SU run that closed its deficit to 10 points four minutes prior.

At the other end, Benny Williams rose through the air and slammed the ball through the net, but Auburn’s next possession ended with its 10th 3-pointer of the game. The shot pushed the Tigers lead back to 17 and sank any chance of that comeback attempt from SU.

Every time the Orange threatened to trim Auburn’s deficit and take back their lead that evaporated early in the first half, the Tigers found a way to generate the response. They had the 3-pointers. The steals and the suffocating defense that forced SU to take off-balanced looks culminated in an 89-68 victory for No. 19 Auburn (5-1) in the Battle 4 Atlantis’ fifth-place game, sending SU (3-3) back from the Bahamas with a 1-2 record and resurfacing defensive questions.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s loss to the Tigers:

Not a one-game fluke

Jesse Edwards’ career night against Arizona State, when he scored 21 points and shot 9-of-11 from the field, carried over to Auburn.

Edwards matched up against 7-foot-1 center and North Carolina transfer Walker Kessler and nearly finished a spin move with his left hand on Syracuse’s second possession. But the shot clock expired just before his release. Swider couldn’t get his 3-pointer off earlier in the possession, and eventually the ball swung to Edwards at the free-throw line. Auburn’s defenders collapsed onto Jimmy Boeheim down on the right block, and Edwards used that extra space to dictate his movement against Kessler.

The Orange tried to force Auburn to switch a guard onto Edwards during their ball screens, which created a second mismatch with Kessler on Joe Girard III, and that often gave their center extra length to work with on his roll to the basket. Edwards scored 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting and demonstrated a comfortable presence working block-to-block against the Tigers’ defense.

With Syracuse trailing by 13 late in the second half, Williams’ 2-pointer bounced off the rim, but Edwards secured the ball — fighting three Auburn defenders around him —before finishing at the basket.

Torrence’s extended minutes

For all of last season, Richmond boosted the top of Syracuse’s zone with his movement, but he also injected life into its offense when Girard couldn’t drive downhill and rotations stalled. Richmond transferred to Seton Hall and was effectively replaced by Symir Torrence in the rotation, albeit with limited minutes.

Multiple times on Friday, the Tigers managed to force steals as Buddy Boeheim and Girard turned their backs to create the extra protection. Both led to easy baskets, or at least scoring opportunities, at the other end. Torrence ended up replacing Girard for most of the second-half minutes down the stretch and even hit his first 3-pointer of the season. Head coach Jim Boeheim said after the game that Girard was congested and had trouble moving up and down the court.

The Orange’s 3-point dependency bites them

For the first two games of the Battle 4 Atlantis, Syracuse scored 92 and 55 points, respectively, despite Buddy accumulating a 3-for-15 line from beyond the arc. Swider found his stroke against Arizona State, but he struggled to find open looks against Auburn. The Tigers’ defense didn’t give up space for open looks from 3, and when the ball entered inside the arc, they collapsed and made it difficult for the Orange to swing the ball, too.

Syracuse made 7-of-19 field goal attempts against the Tigers, with Buddy — who scored nine of his 17 points at the foul line — and Swider each going 2-for-6. Auburn, on the other hand, opened the first half 1-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc, settling for shots in SU’s zone without using interior movement to open up those lanes. The Tigers ended the game with a 12-of-30 statline from deep, making five of their last eight.

Jimmy nearly goes scoreless for first time

Early in the second half, Syracuse used a pick-and-roll set that freed up Edwards with space to send the ball to Jimmy in the paint. But Jimmy’s layup on the left side bounced off the rim — one of two shots he missed in the early minutes of the second half — and the Orange came up empty on the possession.

After scoring at least 11 points in Syracuse’s first five games, Jimmy managed just three — with one made 3-pointer — against Auburn on five attempts. He’s been a vital option for the Orange when their shots beyond the arc don’t string together, but for the first time this season, an opponent effectively eliminated him. Williams ended up playing 16 minutes in the second half off the bench while Jimmy played just nine.

Berman’s spark

Lior Berman only played six minutes, but his effectiveness on the bench — six points on 2 3-pointers, suffocating defense — captured the depth of Auburn’s lineup and the lack of reinforcements that the Orange had. While the Tigers’ bench compiled 79 minutes, SU’s bench only combined for 54 minutes.

When Berman subbed in, he guarded Buddy and nearly forced a turnover by poking the ball away into open space. Buddy recovered the ball, but he ended up forcing a shot because of Berman’s tight defense. And at the other end, Berman banked in a 3-pointer in front of SU’s bench while sinking another one from the corner.

Published on November 26, 2021 at 7:00 pm

Contact Andrew: arcrane@syr.edu | @CraneAndrew