Editor’s note: This post appeared earlier in the Inside Syracuse basketball newsletter, delivered right to readers’ inboxes Tuesday morning. Start receiving the newsletter by clicking here, and check out our full newsletter offerings.
Syracuse, N.Y. – Florida State coach Luke Loucks saw something oddly familiar as he watched film of Syracuse’s game against Pittsburgh in preparation for the Seminoles’ trip to the JMA Wireless Dome on Tuesday night.
The 2-3 zone.
“It was interesting to see them go back to that old school Syracuse zone,’’ Loucks said on Monday. “It brought me back to the Boeheim days.’’
Don’t expect Syracuse coach Adrian Autry to go full Boeheim and rely on the zone as the Orange’s primary defense, but it was interesting to see him incorporate it into the game plan as a change of pace.
Autry had teased the zone last week in the Orange’s win at Georgia Tech. He went to it on a couple of possessions in the final minutes of the game.
Then on Saturday, Autry used the zone on at least nine possessions in the second half.
“We wanted to give them a different look,” Autry said. “(Brandin) Cummings had it going. So we wanted to try to disrupt their rhythm a little bit. Obviously, we had a lead, so you try to work the game, play the game, and make them work a little bit more. I thought they had a good rhythm, so that’s why we went to it.”
Pittsburgh went 2-for-13 from 3-point range in the second half as Syracuse held on for an 83-72 win.
The zone worked, but man-to-man defense will remain Syracuse’s bread and butter under Autry.
Using mostly man defense, Syracuse has held its three ACC opponents to 43.5% field goal shooting and 21% 3-point shooting.
“Their defense has been really, really good,” Loucks said. “They’re efficient defensively. They turn you over. They turn those turnovers into points and you gotta take care of the ball.
“They have a good way about them in terms of their aggressiveness and urgency defensively and five guys working together to stop the ball.”
Notes and nuggets
FSU’s offense: The main challenge for Syracuse in its game against Florida State on Tuesday will be slowing down the Seminoles’ offense.
Florida State is averaging 82.9 points per game.
However, FSU is 0-7 when scoring 76 points or less. The Seminoles’ lowest scoring total in a win came in an 87-63 win over Jacksonville on Dec. 22.
Syracuse has allowed only two teams to score more than 80 points: Iowa State (95-64 loss) and Northeastern (91-83 win).
The next generation: He may not be the next Kiyan Anthony, but there’s another son of a former Syracuse player to keep an eye on.
Donte Greene Jr., whose dad played at Syracuse in the 2007-08 season, is a sophomore at Accelerate Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina. A 6-foot-5 wing, Greene Jr. recently had the best game of his season last Thursday with 18 points and 14 rebounds in a 68-56 win over Quality Education Academy.
Donnie Freeman dons flashy sneakers and no medical boot as the Orange warm up to take on the Tennessee Volunteers at the JMA Wireless Dome Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Syracuse, NY.
Scott Schild | [email protected] Scott Schild | [email protected]
The Poetry 21 shirts are in: Ever since the SU players debuted the long-sleeved Poetry 21 warmup shirts in honor of Lawrence Moten at the beginning of the season, fans have been asking me how they can get them.
Well, the shirts are in and they’re available both at Manny’s on Marshall Street and online at this link.
An SU alum retires: Syracuse fans of a certain vintage will remember Dave Siock. Well, the former SU center is retiring after a career as a high school athletic director in the Virginia Beach area. Siock was the AD at Landstown HS in Virginia Beach since 2002.
Siock played at Syracuse from 1988 to 1993. He was a block of granite at 6-10, 240 pounds. His teammates gave him the nickname Gus.
Siock and his wife, Stacy, a former SU cheerleader, have been married for 30 years.
