Syracuse, N.Y. – Donnie Freeman wasn’t sure if he was supposed to share this kind of intel with reporters.
But Freeman’s Syracuse basketball team had minutes earlier tied a neat bow on an 85-47 win over Binghamton on opening night in college basketball. The Orange played with the kind of intent and purpose that resulted in a 38-point win over a team Ken Pomeroy ranked 323rd in the preseason.
In an era where the NCAA’s NET ranking greatly influences which teams play in the postseason, Adrian Autry kept reminding players during workouts that simply winning basketball games was no longer the sole objective.
If they wanted to play deep into March, they had to win big against teams like Binghamton.
“I mean, honestly, I don’t know if I’m supposed to say this or not, but he talks with us about the NET rankings a lot, like how the point differential matters come tournament time,” Freeman said. “So, no matter what, if you get a big lead, you want to keep your foot on the neck and kind of build that lead.”
The Orange led 24-6 with 5 minutes and 40 seconds left in the first half.
The Bearcats committed 15 first-half turnovers. They shot 5-of-20 overall and 1-of-8 from the 3-point line in those first 20 minutes.
SU played 11 guys in that first half. The intensity rarely flagged.
Syracuse led 32-14 at the break.
“That was the game plan,” said Naithan George. “Just really, like, kill. Just put our foot on their necks and keep them there. And that’s what we did.”
Autry was pleased with the performance of his team. He talked about the “tremendous effort” the Orange displayed. He talked about how fun it was to watch his team compete, about how much Monday’s team resembled the energetic, competitive bunch he’s coached since summer.
There were lob passes and dunks and blocked shots and a little something for everyone.
His players say Autry has placed unending, unyielding importance on playing defense. They practice it a lot. They needed to be much better than last season, when the Orange had trouble containing guards off the dribble and defending in the post.
“Coach Red always preaches defense first,” said Kiyan Anthony.
It wasn’t always evident in SU’s two exhibition games.
Pace, a Division II team, shot 50% in the first half.
Buffalo, ranked 316th in the preseason by KenPom, made 45% of its shots in the second half.
People noticed.
After his team defeated Pace 75-57 last Wednesday, Autry told reporters he was disappointed in his team’s effort and intensity.
The Orange men believed they were better than those scores indicated.
“As a team, we weren’t necessarily happy with our performances in the exhibition games,” William Kyle said. “Me personally, in a way it was embarrassing. We wanted to put on a better performance because we know what we’re capable of and I feel like we really didn’t showcase all of that in those two exhibition games.”
Syracuse left no doubt on Monday in the JMA Wireless Dome.
Freeman wanted everyone to understand that’s how he expects it to be the rest of this season.
“Our thing is we’re here to hunt,” Freeman said. “Like, no matter what we’re never gonna be satisfied. We want to keep attacking our opponent and keep attacking our opponent.”