Syracuse has lost three of its last four, including its most recent game, an 84-72 loss to St. John’s on Sunday. The Orange (7-3) hosts Cornell (5-4) on Saturday at noon in the Carrier Dome and the game will be broadcast on regional sports networks. Here’s what you need to know heading into SU’s third-to-last nonconference game of the season.

The Cornell Report

The Big Red is slightly improved from the 13-17 (5-9 Ivy) season that it had just a year ago. Cornell is 5-4 in 2015 with wins over Colgate, Binghamton, Siena, Penn State-Harrisburg and Lafayette. It has bad losses to Canisius and and UMass-Lowell as well as a 35-point loss to Georgia Tech and a 44-point loss to Pittsburgh. CU comes into its matchup with Syracuse riding a two-game winning streak, though it hasn’t played since Dec. 5.

Cornell has struggled mightily on defense this season, ranking 327th in Division I in opponents field-goal percentage, according to KenPom. On offense, Cornell plays quickly and shoots a lot from the outside. It runs its offense through its best scorer and playmaker, Robert Hatter, who ranks second in usage rate in college basketball.

All-time series

Syracuse and Cornell will meet for the 121st time on Saturday. The Orange has an 89-31 advantage all-time.

Last time they played

The Orange closed out 2014 with a 61-44 win over Cornell on Dec. 31. The Big Red scored just two points in the first 14:38 of the game, which more than made up Syracuse’s struggles to score during the same stretch (14 points). Shonn Miller, who now plays for Connecticut, led Cornell with 12 points. Hatter was just 1-of-11 from the field. Rakeem Christmas led Syracuse with 19 points and nine rebounds.

“Our defense got to their shooters,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said after the game. “They’re a good shooting team, we just didn’t let them get comfortable.”

 

 

How Cornell beats Syracuse

It really would take a perfect storm for Cornell to beat Syracuse. But SU’s suspended head coach said it best on his Thursday radio show. Syracuse could lose to any team that it plays if it shoots the way it did on Sunday, which included a 5-of-26 showing from behind the arc. The Big Red has scored 36.3 percent of its points this season from 3, and it will need to be the better shooting team if it wants to win. Like Syracuse, Cornell struggles to rebound, but if final totals are close, and Cornell hits its 3s while Syracuse does not, it could be a pretty tight game.

Fun stat

David Onourah has attempted 41 shots this season, but has taken 42 free throws. According to KenPom, he has the seventh-highest free-throw rate in the country. Unfortunately for Onourah, he has made only 15 of his 42 from the charity stripe, good for 35.7 percent.

Player to watch

Hatter is averaging 19.6 points and 4.7 assists per game, despite playing just 28 minutes per game. When he is on the floor, the offense typically runs through him. He attempts 34.3 percent of his team’s shots when playing. Cornell has a nine-man rotation, which is why Hatter doesn’t play as much, but he’s proven to be effective when getting his chances.

Published on December 18, 2015 at 8:25 pm