The Syracuse Orange, currently standing at 4-4 with a 0-1 record, faced yet another setback on Saturday. They lost a closely contested game on the road, with a final score of 69-64, to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who are 5-5 and 1-0 in the program's first ACC game of the season.

Syracuse's Offensive Woes in the ACC Debut

Attack the Paint or Bust

In this game, Syracuse went an astonishing 0/9 on three-pointers and managed to score all their points from the paint, foul line, or mid-range. One positive aspect was the reliability shown by Donnie Freeman and Jyare Davis in the scoring department. Freeman scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Davis contributed 20 points and 4 rebounds. Together, they accounted for 40 points (or 62.5%) of the Orange's total 64 points. Especially in the second half, the Freeman-Davis combo was the only consistent offensive force. Given that J.J. Starling is still out due to injury, this duo provides some stability.Jaquan Carlos also had a better game, scoring 8 points on 4/8 shooting, dishing out 7 assists and making 2 steals. He was more aggressive, getting to the rim and not settling for mid-range shots. However, the math didn't work in Syracuse's favor as Notre Dame went 8/22 from three (36%, led by Braeden Shrewsberry's 25 points on 6/11 from downtown), and those 24 three-point points outweighed any other advantage the Orange had, such as turnovers, points off turnovers, and paint points.

Still Figuring Out the Rotation

In the first half and the beginning of the second half, coach Adrian Autry experimented with different rotation combos. Eventually, he settled on a five-man unit consisting of Carlos, Elijah Moore, Lucas Taylor, Davis, and Freeman. It's important to note that it's still early in the season, and Syracuse hopes to have a more finalized rotation once Starling returns and as the ACC part of the schedule progresses.During the game, there was a lot of in-and-out with the players on the court. Kyle Cuffe, Jr. mainly played next to Carlos but didn't have a significant impact. Chris Bell scored 4 points on 1/5 shooting and got only 17 minutes, spending most of the second half on the bench. Eddie Lampkin had 5 points and 5 rebounds but didn't do much after halftime. Chance Westry saw some spot minutes in both halves, and Petar Majstorovic got just one minute on the court.

Sending out an SOS on the Perimeter

Looking at the box score, it was clear that Syracuse is lacking in perimeter creation. Carlos' improved performance is a good sign as he can dish the ball to the Davis-Freeman combo or Lampkin around the basket and occasionally get his own shot inside. Once Starling returns, it will give a boost to the scoring.Even then, one of the guards needs to step up and provide something on the perimeter. Ideally, it could be Bell, but he's off to a rough start this season. Taylor offers defensive energy but not much offense. Kyle Cuffe and Chance Westry are in a similar situation for now.Kevin has suggested that if Syracuse doesn't have consistent perimeter scoring outside a healthy Starling and occasional hot games from Bell or Moore, they need to find other ways to generate offense. Attacking the basket like they did against Notre Dame is a good start, but relying solely on Freeman and Davis to score 20 points each every game might not be sustainable, especially against the ACC's forward depth. Whether it's changing the pace, forcing more turnovers, or finding other strategies, Syracuse needs to find ways to improve their perimeter game to perform better in 2024-25.