Syracuse (15-8, 5-5 Atlantic Coast) rode a 13-point second half from Malachi Richardson and a stout defensive effort to a 60-57 win over Georgia Tech (12-9, 2-6) in the Carrier Dome on Saturday. After starting conference play 0-4, Syracuse has crawled back to .500 in the ACC and its next three opponents are all below it in the league.

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MORE STORIES

• Malachi Richardson closes out Syracuse’s win over Georgia Tech
• Frank Howard assists on 6 baskets in Syracuse’s 60-47 win against Georgia Tech
• Dajuan Coleman turns in positive offensive performance despite fouling out
• Full transcription of Jim Boeheim addressing support for Dwayne “Pearl” Washington

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Here are three things we learned from the Orange’s narrow win.

Even against a bigger team, a smaller lineup works

Both Dajuan Coleman and Tyler Roberson sat on the bench with under five minutes left in the game. Coleman had fouled out and Roberson was sitting in place of Frank Howard. Georgia Tech had just attacked Tyler Lydon twice to take a four-point lead. On the court for Syracuse were Howard, Richardson, Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney.

But for a stretch of almost two minutes before Roberson re-entered, Syracuse held Georgia Tech scoreless. After the game, SU head coach Jim Boeheim praised Gbinije and Cooney for locking down the Yellow Jackets’ backcourt down the stretch. Howard, who Boeheim also lauded for his passing, played his second-highest minutes in conference play.

Despite Georgia Tech’s size advantage, Syracuse’s smaller lineup held its own, especially without Coleman. After Lydon was targeted twice, the Yellow Jackets only scored four points the rest of the way as Syracuse hung in with its smaller lineup before squeaking ahead.

“I wanted to get a big back in there at the end,” Boeheim said, “but the small lineup was pretty good.”

Syracuse isn’t as dependent on the deep ball

The Orange both attempted and made its fourth-fewest 3-pointers on the season. Boeheim said at the beginning of the year that the target was 12-15 made 3-pointers per game. Against Georgia Tech, SU only made six of its 18.

Saturday was the first time against an ACC opponent other than Boston College (who currently sits 0-7 in league play) that Syracuse won when making fewer than 10 shots from behind the arc.

Against the Yellow Jackets, one of the best teams in the country at taking care of the ball, Syracuse forced 12 turnovers, along with hitting 12 free throws and grabbing 35 rebounds.

“We can win without making a bunch of 3s,” Malachi Richardson said.

Dajuan Coleman can be effective, even when battling foul trouble

Coleman will hardly ever go straight up when he catches the ball in the post, but Saturday showed why that may not always be a bad thing. The Syracuse center battled his typical foul trouble but still got to the foul line twice and scored 11 points despite repeated hesitations on the low block.

He fouled out with 6:11 remaining and left a Syracuse frontcourt exposed to the big bodies of Georgia Tech that Coleman helped contain.

But unlike against Pittsburgh, when Coleman fouled out early and the game unraveled for Syracuse, the Orange was able to hold onto a game the beleaguered big man left a positive footprint on.

Published on January 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm