Observations from Syracuse vs. Boston College: Edwards dominates, Williams returns

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It was either going to be a much-needed bounce back game or it was going to continue be a loss to sink Syracuse below .500 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

The Orange started the game like it had in so many contests this season: a close game at halftime, allowing wide open 3s and slow transition defense. In the second half, relying on its talented freshmen that frequently shrunk under the spotlight, Syracuse mitigated turnovers and clamped down on fouls in the final five minutes. Although SU still turned over the ball on a few possessions and left 3-point shooters wide open, its young core, for the first time in a while, played within themselves.

To extend Syracuse’s lead to 62-59 and continue what ended up being a late, 11-0 run, Judah Mintz drove down the left side of the lane. He drew a double-team, but instead of keeping his head down, lofting up a bad shot or turning the ball over, he flipped the ball over to Jesse Edwards. Edwards laid in the feed, and Syracuse (14-10, 7-6 Atlantic Coast) impressed during its 77-68 win over Boston College (11-13, 5-8).

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s first win in four games:

Feeding Edwards against Quentin Post

Edwards has been solid in conference play. He’s maintained his double-double status, but has frequently gotten into foul trouble against some of the more physical conference opponents, leading to more playing time for Mounir Hima or Syracuse even opting to play small and without a listed center. Boeheim has been saying all year that Edwards needs to go to the hoop, as most of the center’s turnovers have come when he tries to work around his man in the high post.

But from the beginning against Boston College, Edwards played closer to the basket, working against his former Netherlands youth teammate Quentin Post. Joe Girard III and Mintz made a more concerted effort early in the game to try lob passes inside to Edwards, who early in the first half, slammed down his 35th dunk of the season. To give Syracuse an 18-15 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining in the first half, Girard once again passed the ball down to Edwards on the left block. He backed down Post a few times to get enough space. Then, he spun and got a left-handed jump-hook to fall.

Edwards ended with a game-leading 27 points and didn’t even collect his third foul until 12:45 left in the game. With less than 15 minutes left in the second half, Torrence provided a bounce pass inside to Edwards, who was backing down Post on the right block. Edwards took two dribbles, faked to his right, spun left and floated a layup attempt off the glass and in.

Prince Aligbe plays like a king

The last time Syracuse played Boston College, Prince Aligbe scored 12 points, grabbed five defensive rebounds and forced one steal. It was a quality game filled with flashes of what the four-star freshman could become against ACC teams on the road. Today, Aligbe totaled double-digit points just two more times heading into the second season matchup. His rebounds hovered between four and seven.

After the first half in Chestnut Hill, it was clear that Boston College was going to fuel its offense through him. Through 16 minutes, he grabbed six rebounds and notched six points, adding in an assist and two blocks. He flew all over the court and was the recipient of two alleyoop dunks, both off feeds from Jaeden Zackery. Both times, he was flying down the court in fast break offense, once as one part of a 2-on-1 against Torrence.

After two straight 3-pointers with 11 minutes left in the second half, Boston College was tied with Syracuse. Edwards came back and notched a layup of his own to regain the lead for the Orange, but then Aligbe settled in deep in the right corner. Chaz Kelly, Boston College’s backup point guard, strode up to the 3-point line at the top of the key. Then, Aligbe darted up toward the basket, a finger raised in the air to call Kelly. The freshman guard lobbed up a pass to Aligbe, who — uncontested — slammed down another dunk to tie the game at 55 apiece.

Struggling on offensive rebounds

When Syracuse struggles on the offensive boards, it tends to have trouble winning games. That’s been the trajectory of numerous games throughout this season. Boston College (5) had more than the Orange (4) through the first 20 minutes. Post and T.J. Bickerstaff gobbled up rebounds on both ends of the court, with a solid addition by Aligbe and Devin McGlockton, all of whom ended the game with at least four rebounds.

The Orange couldn’t keep up, and while many offensive rebounds in the first half ended with missed second chances, it was clear that Boston College was going to continue to get more open looks throughout the afternoon so long as SU wasn’t clamping down on the offensive boards. The Eagles only ended with nine second-chance points, but totaled 30 points in the paint and capitalized on Maliq Brown and Chris Bell’s lack of rebounding. Bell only played 11 minutes, and Benny Williams hardly contributed, leaving Brown as the only forward to help Edwards. Taylor is more of an outside, spot-shooting threat, and ended the afternoon with just one board.

Boston College struggled to penetrate Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, in part, leading to the Eagles chucking up 35 3-pointers to the tune of 31.4%. Their big men are undersized and are not a team that works inside. So, on the few opportunities that they were able to get inside the paint and get around Edwards and Brown, they took advantage of it. With 1:15 left in the game Post drove into the paint and tried for a layup. It missed, but Edwards couldn’t get a hold of the ball, leading to a scrum and Post grabbing an offensive rebound. Though he made just one layup, it moved the deficit to two possessions before the final minute.

Benny Williams returns, hardly plays

Syracuse lost a close game to the No. 6 team in the country. Yet, after the game and throughout the following day, the most talked about storyline — even picked up by national outlets and sports blogs — was where Williams was. Boeheim’s snarky response shifted focus away from the shortcomings of the team that led to the loss and toward the status of Williams. “A personal day,” is all Boeheim would offer up on the issue of where Williams — a former starter that averages 23 minutes per game this season.

Williams didn’t start against Boston College and it’s clear that the second forward spot alongside Bell is Brown’s to lose for the remainder of the season. Williams only played seven minutes, many of which came during the middle of the first half. He looked rusty, with his first 3-point attempt coming from the left wing going too long and missing the rim entirely. Williams finished with just two points, acting more as a role player, a far fall from the starter who seemed primed for a breakout season.