Opponent Preview: What to know ahead of Central Connecticut

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Syracuse opened up its second season under head coach Felisha Legette-Jack with an emphatic 75-41 victory over Lafayette Tuesday.

Five SU players were in double figures, led by Dyaisha Fair, who scored 17 and hauled in a team-high 11 rebounds. Fair’s backcourt mate Alaina Rice also registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards. Freshman forward Alyssa Latham chipped in with 15 points and 10 rebounds in her Orange debut.

En route to a blowout victory, Syracuse’s defense suffocated the Leopards, who shot 16-for-54 from the field (29.6%) and 5-for-21 from 3-point range (23.8%). SU also crashed the glass, out-rebounding Lafayette 58-27.

Next, the Orange (1-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) take on Central Connecticut State University (0-1, 0-0 Northeast Conference). The Blue Devils opened their season with a 52-35 loss to Manhattan, shooting at a measly 21.2% clip.

Here’s everything to know about Central Connecticut before Friday’s matchup:

All-time series

Syracuse leads 4-0.

Last time they played

Syracuse battled Central Connecticut on Dec. 5, 2021, under interim head coach Vonn Read. The Orange handily defeated the Blue Devils 116-65, led by a triple-double from Teisha Hyman. The point guard scored 27 points on 10-for-12 shooting, also dishing out 15 assists and recording 11 steals. Five other Syracuse players were in double figures, including Chrislyn Carr with 22 points, who went 3-for-5 from 3-point range.

The Orange led wire-to-wire, boosted by a 13-0 run to finish the first quarter. After outscoring CCSU 37-16 in the second quarter, SU led by 36 at half. From then on, the game was never close and the Orange finished with their largest margin of victory all season.

The Blue Devils report

Central Connecticut finished 7-22 last season, including just 3-13 in the NEC. The Blue Devils are coached by Way Veney, who’s in her first season after 15 years as an assistant with Temple. Veney looks to guide CCSU to its first NCAA Tournament appearance. The Blue Devils made the tournament in 1986, but as a Division II school.

Belle Lanpher, the Blue Devils leading scorer from last season, returns after a strong junior campaign. Lanpher was the only player to average double digit points (13.6). CCSU’s second-leading scorer from last season, Dejah Jenkins, transferred to Manhattan.

In 2022-23, Central Connecticut averaged 56.8 points per game, ranking 314 out of 361 Division I teams, according to HerHoopStats. The Blue Devils accumulated an offensive rating of 82.2, which ranked in the 12th percentile among D-I teams.

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How Syracuse beats Central Connecticut

According to HerHoopStats, the Orange averaged 74.2 points per game last season — the 34th-best in the country. CCSU’s offense ranked near the bottom of the country in nearly every statistical category. If Georgia Woolley is still unavailable, Syracuse showed in its season-opening win that it has other options offensively.

With players like Latham — who recorded a double-double in her first collegiate game — Kyra Wood and Izabel Varejão, Syracuse will cause trouble down low. It dominated Lafayette on the glass in the opener, so expect much of the same. Central Connecticut pulled in just 22.9 defensive rebounds per game last season while allowing its opponents 11.5 offensive boards per game.

Stat to know: 10.6

Central Connecticut averaged 10.6 assists per game last season, ranking toward the bottom of the country. Forever Toppin led the Blue Devils in total assists last season with 63. No player on CCSU’s roster from last season had more assists than turnovers, averaging 17 turnovers per game.

In Central Connecticut’s loss to Manhattan it had just eight assists compared to 15 turnovers. Syracuse’s opener wasn’t much better, though, recording 11 assists and 14 turnovers. It all depends on how aggressive SU’s defense plays. Fair led the ACC in steals last season and earned all-conference defensive team honors. In the offseason, she further improved her defense and should help set the tone for the Orange on that end.

Player to watch: Belle Lanpher, guard, No. 2

Lanpher averaged 13.6 points per game last season while shooting 44.1% from the field and 34.1% from 3. After not playing in the Blue Devils first four games, Lanpher worked her way into the starting lineup, starting 14 of their final 16 games.

Lanpher finished with a career-high 30 points on Feb. 2 against St. Francis Brooklyn. The 5-foot-5 guard finished 12-for-17 from the floor, including four made 3-pointers. Along with her scoring prowess, Lanpher dished out 2.5 assists last season to lead CCSU. Similar to Fair, Lanpher is aggressive in the passing lanes, accumulating 30 steals last season.