MADISON, Wis. — Among the shuffling of new roster pieces for Syracuse, it’s a returning piece, arguably the team’s most important one, that’s still trying to figure himself out a bit.

That pawn is Tyler Lydon, and don’t get it twisted, he’s been solid this season, averaging 11 points per game and dropping in nine for No. 22 SU (5-2) in its 77-60 loss to No. 17 Wisconsin (6-2) on Tuesday night. But as he straddles between the small forward position and center, there’s a stark difference in his offensive arsenal.

Head coach Jim Boeheim admitted Lydon is most effective offensively as a center, hawking around the basket to put up close shots. This also means taking Dajuan Coleman out of the lineup, which isn’t always the ideal move for a well-rounded defense. But as a small forward, Lydon has been limited to more outside shots and fewer offensive opportunities.

So as the game slipped away in the second half, Lydon attempted only two shots after halftime. At the 3 position, he draws a smaller defender that makes it more difficult to shoot 3s against. Lydon also isn’t quite developed as a post-up player, leaving him and his coach a puzzle that the Orange still needs to figure out.

“I don’t care where he puts me,” Lydon said. “I’m just trying to play basketball and go help my team win. Wherever that might be, that’s what I’m going to try to do.”

Here’s more on how Syracuse’s offense evaporated in the second half, the same 20-minute period where Lydon and Andrew White combined to shoot 1-for-8.

As much as the offensive struggles were rooted in dismal second-half scoring, SU never gained enough quality ball movement from either of its point guard. It ended up in several one-on-one situations, and the results weren’t great. Among other topics, this is one thing we learned in the blowout loss.

Lastly, check out the inaugural edition of The Final Word podcast, a quick conversation trying to make sense about what Tuesday night’s loss means for Syracuse.

https://bumpers.fm/e/b0v6liau528g02shfl9g

Published on November 30, 2016 at 9:34 am

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman