No. 18 Syracuse (3-0) came away with a 71-50 win over Monmouth (1-2) at the Carrier Dome, but it didn’t come with as much ease as SU’s two prior wins. Monmouth tied the game at 20 and was within eight points at halftime. Thanks to a strong defensive performance in the second half, Syracuse pulled away.

Here’s what we learned from the game.

Monmouth’s one-man press bothered Frank Howard

Monmouth point guard Justin Robinson pressed Frank Howard the length of the court throughout the game on Friday. Howard finished with eight points, six assists and two turnovers in 23 minutes. The press didn’t affect Howard much in the box score, but he said it’s “annoying” to deal with and it tired him out.

“It’s annoying as a point guard especially when you’re kind of tall and you got a little guy getting up under you full court,” Howard said. “He’s quick, athletic, strong. So it’s annoying. And that’s what they’re doing, if they catch a mistake, get the ball off the turnover, speed you up. I just got to take my time, go at my own pace. I think I do a pretty good job of that.”

The 6-foot-5 Howard said he expects more teams to deploy the strategy against him because he’s a point guard with more size than most. He cited Louisville as a team that often presses and could use point guard Quentin Snider similarly to how Monmouth used Robinson.

Since Howard often has a size advantage over the players that guard him, he said refs tend to allow the defenders to be more physical on him. He has to combat the pressure by staying low to the court to keep his leverage and dribbling strong. It takes more energy to fend off a defender for the length of the court and could wear Howard down in more challenging circumstances. Facing the scheme against Monmouth was a good test, he said.

Tony D. Curtis | Staff Photographer

Andrew White can carry Syracuse’s offense but he doesn’t have to

Andrew White put up 18 points in the first half as the Orange held on to an eight-point lead at the break. He went 3-of-7 from behind the arc, including back-to-back triples to turn a tie game into a 26-20 SU lead. By halftime, he had just one less point than all of his teammates combined.

“I thought in the first half we did a really good job of getting Andrew the ball,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “He was our offense. He kept us in there when we were struggling a little bit offensively. But he made big shots and got us some separation.”

But in the second half, White didn’t score a single point as he went 0-for-5 from the field. Still, the SU offense managed 34 second-half points. Its defense led the way after halftime and White’s production wasn’t needed. In tougher situations against more challenging opponents, Syracuse’s reliance on White may change. But for now, when the Orange’s defense played the way it did holding the Hawks to 21 in the second half, SU can afford a scoreless half from its leading scorer.

Jim Boeheim isn’t tolerating turnovers from his point guards

After John Gillon drove from the right wing, bumped into a Monmouth defender and fumbled the ball out of bounds, Boeheim immediately pulled him. He yelled, “Are you crazy?” to the fifth-year transfer and continued yelling once Gillon sat on the bench three and a half minutes into the second half.

Gillon and Howard combined for four turnovers. SU had 16 overall and 10 in the second half. Gillon’s two turnovers were the most he’s had in a game through three contests.

“Ten turnovers in the second half. We can’t have our point guards just giving the ball up like that,” Boeheim said. “… I think what happens is we play teams that can’t guard and you just go by them. Now you’re playing a team that can guard people. That team’s a good team.”

Right before Boeheim ripped into Gillon, Howard had also been subbed out six seconds after committing a turnover.

Published on November 19, 2016 at 12:51 am

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds