Jesse Edwards’ foul trouble reaffirms that Syracuse is lost without him

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Jesse Edwards has gotten into foul trouble before, forcing Jim Boeheim to prematurely pull his center from the game. But, with Edwards on the floor, Syracuse runs an undoubtedly better, more efficient offense. Those are the facts of each game the Orange play in: There’s no one on the roster that can replace the senior who is averaging a double-double in points and rebounds so far this season. In SU’s win over Boston College, however, the Orange showed that without Edwards, they could be in trouble.

After drawing his fourth foul, a call drawn by Boston College’s T.J. Bickerstaff on a driving layup at the rim, Edwards was subbed out for Mounir Hima, a defensive center who averages just 1.7 points per game. Syracuse was riding off of a late first-half run and held a seven-point lead. Then, Prince Aligbe drove down the lane and collected a layup. Judah Mintz countered with a layup of his own, but the Eagles kicked off a 12-0 run with another close-range shot from inside the paint and punished Syracuse on the boards to storm back into the game.

Though Edwards checked back into the game with five minutes left and helped Syracuse close to their second conference victory, the near loss signified Edwards’ importance to SU, and reaffirmed that right now, neither Hima, Jon Bol Ajak or a smaller lineup, can successfully stop opponents. Without Edwards, the Orange (9-5, 2-1 Atlantic Coast) came a late push away from a surprising loss to Boston College (7-7, 1-2 ACC) to close out 2022.

“Jesse’s getting pushed around a lot. He’s fouling people a lot. He’s got to be better for us,” Boeheim said.

When Edwards does well, Syracuse is typically winning. With the exception of his 21-rebound game that came in a loss against Bryant, the Orange are 5-1 when Edwards grabs at least 10 rebounds. Boeheim knows it too. When Edwards — standing at 6-foot-11 — can provide his presence in the pick-and-roll, it opens up space for Joe Girard III and Mintz to operate on the perimeter and create scoring opportunities. When Hima or Ajak stand underneath the basket, the threat of someone who can back down a defender or dunk through people doesn’t exist.

It was clear early on against Boston College that Edwards was off. On Syracuse’s second possession, he received a feed down low from Mintz and spun around looking to drive toward the basket. Instead, Bickerstaff pick-pocketed Edwards before he could get close to the rim. Throughout the contest, Edwards bobbled the ball and forced off-balanced shots.

Defensively, he picked up poorly-timed fouls and grabbed just eight rebounds — his fewest since SU’s Dec. 6 win over Oakland. In the absence of Edwards, Hima and Ajak combined for just three rebounds. Throughout the second half burst from the Eagles, SU’s forwards were unable to keep Boston College to just one possession, making it easier for BC to tack on points off of offensive boards to draw within one.

“What I’m worried about is (we’re not) positioned to get loose rebounds,” Boeheim said. “That’s something that, when Jesse, Mounir or Benny do something, block, somebody’s gotta get that ball.”

In the midst of that run, right after Aligbe nailed a contested 3, Girard started to drive toward the basket from the top of the key. He was swarmed by two defenders and was forced to deliver a pass down low to Hima. Instead of having the confidence to loft up an alley-oop pass, Girard attempted a pass that was stolen easily, sparking an Eagle’s transition. The Orange — especially Hima — were slow getting back on defense and Boston College was able to convert off of the Syracuse turnover.

A few plays later, Makai Ashton-Langford drove baseline past Quadir Copeland. He saw Hima bleed out to cover a guard near the left side of the foul line and looked to shoot the gap in the zone defense. He caught Copeland flat-footed and Devin McGlockton noticed an opening. McGlockton then chucked a bounce pass past Hima and in toward Ashton-Langford, who rose up and connected with a layup to cut Syracuse’s lead to just three points.

In a conference manned with prolific big men like UNC’s Armando Bacot and Duke’s Dereck Lively II, teams are filled with experience that runs seven and eight players deep. In the future, Syracuse will need to find ways to stop opponents when Edwards isn’t on the court. Because of his ability to dominate in the paint, shown by his average of 14.1 points per game, Edwards’ impact is second to none. However, in five games already this season he’s played less than 30 minutes and gotten into foul trouble seven times.

“Jesse looked slow from the very beginning. Mounir didn’t get back … we need to get better there,” Boeheim said.