Take a look at the box score from Monday night’s SU game. A couple of stats should stand out. First, the Orange had 8 players with 10 or more points, Syracuse hadn’t done that in nearly forty years. The next thing that jumps off the page should be the insane assist number: 34 on 37 baskets.
Let’s take the scorers first. Syracuse had 8 players in double figures. The last time, and presumably only time the Orange had ever done that was January, 17th 1979 against Sienna. Think of some of the players who scored double figures in that game. They include Dale Shackleford, Roosevelt Bouie, Louis Orr, and Danny Schayes.
It should be noted that the Orange needed 144 total points in that game, against “just” 105 on Monday night.
The offensive explosion on Monday night was incredible, it was a sign of what the team could be offensively. Yes, things may have been a little different had Tyler Lydon not left in the first half with an injury, but it still shows the balance this team could have among its eight scholarship players.
On the assist front, consider that the Orange had 19 assists on 19 baskets at the half. Or that they had an assist on their first 23 baskets. I don’t care who you are playing, that is an amazing stat. It goes to show just how good the ball movement was last night for the Orange and how unselfishly Syracuse was playing.
This was necessary following Saturday’s game against Georgetown when the ball stopped at times and the Orange only racked up 10 assists total.
While the stats and the numbers and the sheer ridiculousness of the offense in the Dome Monday night can be enjoyed, laughed about, freaked out over by basketball and stat nerds, it should be noted that, much like some of the anomalies on Saturday, these stats will certainly not be matched again this year.
The offense was ridiculous. It was something I had never seen before, and I’d imagine most basketball fans, not just Syracuse fans, had not seen a performance like Monday night’s before.
In addition to the obvious numbers, the shooting percentages were of the charts as well. It wasn’t about volume on Monday. It was about efficiency. First, the Orange scored 105 points on just 63 shots. That’s 1.66 points per shot. On Saturday, Syracuse scored just 1.24 points per shot. Then consider that the Orange shot 58.7% from the field, or more than double the percentage the Orange shot against UCONN.
Monday night was a special night in the Dome. The Orange did something we hadn’t seen in nearly 40 years. SU played at an incredibly efficient and effective level, and was sharing the ball in a way we hadn’t seen the team do all season. It won’t quite be the same every single night, especially into ACC play, but Monday did give a glimpse at what the Orange could do.