No. 23 Syracuse (2-0) battled past Hampton (0-2) for a 65-47 win in the Carrier Dome on Sunday, and here are three things we learned from the surprisingly close result.

1. Even they can do it

The Pirates successfully stretched the Orange’s 2-3 zone and found most of their offensive success in the paint. It helped Hampton that freshman forward Chris McCullough sat for most of the second half with four fouls — leaving a smaller SU lineup on the floor — but Hampton’s dissection of the zone went from start to finish.

The most vulnerable spot of the defense was the middle, with center Rakeem Christmas a little slow to step up and the guards a hair late on a number of deflection opportunities. That left the Pirates with close-range shots, backside layups and the occasional 3 on a kick out. No Hampton player established himself as a legitimate perimeter threat, but that didn’t stop Jervon Pressley, Charles Wilson-Fisher and Quinton Chievous from exposing the center of the zone and keeping the Pirates in the game.

Back-to-back baby hooks from Dwight Meikle kept the game tight late in the second half, and both came from that same spot.

2. Better fit

Michael Gbinije has been advertised as Syracuse’s backup point guard, and assumed that role after missing the team’s season opener against Kennesaw State on Friday. But he looked uncomfortable running the offense in the first half — missing all three of his shots and getting stripped at half court.

In the second half, SU point guard Kaleb Joseph didn’t sit and Gbinije shifted back to his natural forward role. He was able to catalyze the offense out of the high post, operate from the wing and not worry about point-guard duties.

The game was a tale of two halves for Gbinije, and it showed that playing the point could limit his effectiveness moving forward.

3. For a minute

If only for the first two games of the season, sophomore forward B.J. Johnson is showing why he can be one of the first off of Jim Boeheim’s bench this season.

Johnson played 18 minutes in the first half and finished the game with a bench-high 26 minutes with eight points and four rebounds to show for it. When Syracuse went with a small lineup in the second half — consisting of Joseph, Trevor Cooney, Johnson, Gbinije and Christmas — Johnson provided consistent rebounding in the wing of the zone.

Published on November 16, 2014 at 6:33 pm