Syracuse men’s basketball: what to watch vs St John’s

The Syracuse Orange (2-1) make a return to Madison Square Garden on Sunday night to take on the #13 St. John’s Red Storm (3-0). Game tips at 7:00 on Peacock and here’s what we’re watching for in this one…

Kevin: Handling the pressure

Syracuse committed 12 turnovers against Indiana and it will be interesting to see how the Orange deal with the Johnnies pressure defense. This won’t be just on the point guards and I’m wondering how the defense might impact Gerry McNamara’s rotation. Will we see more of Dual and Moesch together to give the Orange options to get the ball across half-court? If Syracuse ends up with 15+ turnovers, the game could get ugly.

Max: Handling pressure

I’m going with the same thing as Kevin. The Pitino press and St. John’s defense as a whole has forced double digit turnovers in all three of their games so far. Syracuse needs to control the ball and be careful with their passes, if not it’ll get bad.

Dom: Offensive execution

It’s all going to come down to that. The Hoosiers got hot from three in the second half, but outside a stretch here or there, Syracuse’s defense (I thought) played with effort and battled. It was the offense that waned, and tough shot-making from Moesch and Kiyan were the biggest reasons Syracuse was able to stay in the fight late. St. John’s defense (13th in KenPom) ranks even better than the Hoosiers, so what’s the strategy to attack that side of the court?

Szuba: Inside play

Both these teams go tall as all players in the St. John’s rotation go 6-foot-4 or taller. Same goes for Syracuse (sans Moesch) as all guys go 6-foot-5 or taller. St. John’s also has bulk, so can the Orange compete inside the paint and keep the rebounding battle respectable? The Orange have some limitations rebounding the ball; what can Luke Wilson, Sadiq White and Abdramane Siby do on the glass or does McNamara need to turn to Tasman Goodrick or Francis Folefac, foul trouble or otherwise? Curious to see how Syracuse handles the inside play of Pitino’s squad and if it can’t, can the Orange answer from outside?

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What will you be watching for in this one?