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Syracuse’s return from a COVID-19 pause to play its first game in 16 days coincides with Brown’s first game in 17 days, and the two teams will meet in the Carrier Dome on Monday night. The Orange last faced Georgetown on Dec. 11, but then about 14 of their players tested positive in the days that followed — leading to postponements against Lehigh and Cornell.

Brown, which was picked to finish fifth in the preseason Ivy League poll, lost a game from its schedule when COVID-19 issues in Rhode Island’s program forced a cancellation. The Bears (8-5) will play SU (5-5, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) on Monday and then Maryland three days later before entering conference play for the rest of the season. As of now, this is the Orange’s second-to-last nonconference game of the season, with a contest against Cornell slated for Dec. 29 unless the postponed game against Lehigh is rescheduled.

Here’s what you need to know about the Bears ahead of their second-ever trip to the Carrier Dome.

All-time series

Syracuse leads, 4-3.

Last time they played

Behind 21 points from Pearl Washington, 17 from Rafael Addison and 15 from Rodney Walker off the bench, Syracuse cruised past Brown, 101-52, in the first round of the 1986 NCAA Tournament. Washington, who converted 9-of-11 shots from the field, also dished out seven assists, while 6-foot-10 center Rony Seikaly contributed five blocks and seven rebounds. Twelve different Bears players scored, but only Jim Turner (13 points) managed double-digits for a team that had won its first Ivy League title. The Orange managed at least 50 points in each half and extended a season that had opened with 13 consecutive wins. 

Syracuse, a No. 2 seed in that year’s tournament, lost to seventh-seeded Navy by 12 points in the next round, allowing 65 points in the second half. 

KenPom odds

Syracuse has an 83% chance to win, with a projected score of 77-67.

The Bears report

Brown didn’t play last year after the Ivy League canceled its season due to COVID-19, but the Bears returned Tamenang Choh, who averaged 13.2 points per game the previous year, as their second leading scorer. He’s one of three players to average double-digit points this season, though his 10.0 points per game trails both Kino Lilly Jr. (12.2) and Paxson Wojcik (10.8). Those players key an offensive group that’s struggled throughout the season, though, ranking 233rd nationally in terms of adjusted offensive efficiency even as Brown has topped 72 points in four of its last five games.
In its second game of the season, Brown narrowly lost a 94-87 game against North Carolina after scoring 50 points in the opening half and leading by three at the break. It took a 3-pointer from RJ Davis with 43 seconds left to seal UNC’s victory, spoiling a night where Brown shot 50.7% from the field. The Bears haven’t defeated a team ranked higher than 146, per KenPom, though their defensive turnover percentage, defensive rebounding percentage and defensive block percentage all rank inside the top 100 nationally. Dan Friday holds the highest percentage of shots taken on the team, but he’s only turned that into a 9.8 points per game average.

How Syracuse beats Brown

Brown’s defense could force Syracuse into empty possessions not necessarily because of missed shots, but rather due to blocks, turnovers and other miscues that the Bears have caused against other teams. Even still, the Orange win this game by avoiding Jaylan Gainey near the basket and by taking advantage of a Bears’ defense that ranks 202nd at defending 2-point shots and 153rd at defending 3-pointers. If Gainey shadows Jesse Edwards, drawing him away from the basket on pick-and-rolls, that could open lanes for players like Jimmy Boeheim, Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard III to drive into a painted area that won’t have a lot of height — at least for the defensive players — and would also be without Gainey, Brown’s top shot blocker.

Defensively, the Orange will need to improve their zone that has been a primary factor in most, if not all, of their losses this season. Brown’s offense isn’t spectacular, but it could still find ways to score if the holes in an SU unit that’s 227th in 3-point defense and 252nd in 2-point defense emerge once again. Patching those areas will be a necessary factor for the Orange to avoid dropping their sixth nonconference game this season.

Stat to know: 6.7

Choh leads the Bears with 6.7 fouls drawn per 40 minutes, which ranks 24th in the country, per KenPom. Syracuse, by comparison, doesn’t have a player on its roster who averages more than 4.2 fouls drawn per game (Edwards). Friday, a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, also averages more than Edwards does with 4.6 fouls drawn per 40 minutes. The Orange tend to stay out of foul trouble — with Buddy, Jimmy and Girard all averaging fewer than 1.7 calls per 40 minutes — but Choh’s ability to draw fouls could create scenarios where Edwards falls into foul trouble once again.

Player to watch: Jaylan Gainey, Forward, No. 22

Gainey, at 6-foot-9, is Brown’s tallest player, and his 10.2% block percentage ranks 37th nationally while his 72.2% conversion rate on 2-point shots ranks 21st, per KenPom. The Ivy League named him its Defensive Player of the Year during the 2019-20 season — where he led the conference and ranked 29th in the country with 2.1 shots blocked per game. According to the Providence Journal, the numbers worked out to around a blocked shot for every nine minutes that Gainey played.

In Brown’s last game against Vermont, Gainey recorded a season-high four blocks — a number he reached, or surpassed, five times during the Bears’ last full season. His presence near the rim could pose difficulties for Edwards and Jimmy to rely on the same post moves that have worked for them in the past — like when Georgetown went small against the Orange in the second half and played without a true center.

Published on December 26, 2021 at 2:12 pm

Contact Andrew: arcrane@syr.edu | @CraneAndrew