Can Cal get right back in this?
The Syracuse Orange (9-12, 3-7) are looking to split their West Coast trip when they face the California Golden Bears (11-10, 4-6). Tip-off is tomorrow at 10:00 pm on ESPN2 and here’s what we’re watching for:
Kevin: An early wake-up
You can’t keep starting games chasing large deficits. I wouldn’t mind it if Red Autry shifts Elijah Moore back to the bench and lets Jaquan Carlos run the point. Moore is an important piece of the future but right now he’s struggling and Syracuse needs someone who can run the offense. The Orange can then use the duo of Lucas Taylor and Kyle Cuffe to chase Andrej Stojakovic on the perimeter.
Dom: Consistency on defense
Syracuse falling into a gigantic deficit versus Stanford didn’t make a comeback any easier, but the Orange have at times shown enough promise to hold up defensively for stretches. The problem is that it’s inconsistent. In back-to-back games (Pitt and Stanford), the defense played way better in the first half than the second half, and opponent were shooting more efficient coming out of halftime. If getting turnovers is just not going to be a thing for this team, making shots consistently tough has to be.
Szuba: If Allen Crabbe gets hot
Cal could get right back in this
Max: An offensive advantage?
You don’t get to say this often, but Syracuse is shooting better from three-point range (32.1%) than Cal (27.8%) in conference play. The Bears might be ranked last in the ACC in effective field goal percentage per KenPom (44.9%), but they’ve managed to win three of their last four. Clearly, there are still flaws on both sides of the ball for the Orange, but this is a much more comfortable matchup than the Stanford game.
