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At 1:31 p.m., Syracuse received the worst news possible ahead of its biggest game of the year — a road showdown with No. 3 Tennessee. The team announced on X that leading scorer J.J. Starling was ruled out with a left hand injury. Voice of the Orange Matt Park later confirmed the news, saying in a post that Starling broke his non-shooting hand and would be “out indefinitely.”

With a team that already lacked firepower and diverse scoring options, losing Starling only decreased SU’s already slim chances of pulling off an upset. It didn’t help that the Orange had to face one of the most experienced guards in the country in Zakai Zeigler and a hot hand like Chaz Lanier, who entered averaging 17.7 points per game.

As predicted, Starling’s absence proved costly. Syracuse’s (4-3, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) guards were completely outmatched in its 96-70 blowout loss to No. 3 Tennessee (8-0, 0-0 Southeastern). Elijah Moore was a bright spot with a career-high 24 points, though SU’s four other guards combined to score nine points. Meanwhile, Tennessee’s starting backcourt of Lanier and Zeigler totaled 40, as the Orange dropped their third straight game to a Power Four opponent.

Without Starling, Syracuse was void of scoring options at the guard position. Jaquan Carlos is more of a facilitator and hadn’t scored more than four points all season. His seven-point outing in Knoxville was his season high. Despite his underperforming so far with the Orange, SU head coach Adrian Autry kept him in the starting lineup against a stout Tennessee defense.

“He’s our only ball-handler. He was the only guy that could handle the pressure of Tennessee,” Autry said.

Alongside Carlos, Starling usually packs a scoring punch at 19.8 points per game. On Nov. 16, he exploded for 38 points against Youngstown State, carrying SU to a double-overtime win.

There was never going to be a like-for-like replacement for Starling. It was also going to be tough facing a defense that’s allowed just 54.7 points per game.

Autry elected to go with Lucas Taylor to fill Starling’s spot ahead of Moore, despite the freshman coming off a career-high 19 points and five 3-pointers in SU’s win over Cornell. His choice failed, with Taylor going scoreless and attempting just one shot in 14 minutes.

Moore entered at the 15:22 mark in the first half with Syracuse trailing 10-7. He got into a rhythm, hitting his first two shots, both mid-range jumpers. SU trailed by five around the halfway point of the first half when Moore used an Eddie Lampkin Jr. screen at the top of the key. Felix Okpara dropped too deep and Moore made him pay, knocking down a 3-pointer.

It was a crucial spark that Syracuse needed. But as Moore looked for someone else to provide support, nobody answered the call. He totaled 12 points at halftime on 5-of-6 shooting while Carlos, Taylor and Kyle Cuffe Jr. tallied five points on 2-of-5 shooting. Still, Moore’s offense had the Orange within striking distance at halftime, trailing 45-35.

“Elijah came in and gave him some lift,” Autry said. “He was the only bright spot. He was aggressive. He made shots, took shots. He used our screens and got to his spots … He’s getting better each week.”

Against arguably the best team in the country, having inconsistent guard play was eventually going to cost the Orange. And it did. Autry elected not to start Moore in the second half and SU’s deficit grew to 13. Even when he entered over three minutes in, Syracuse was outmatched.

Both Jordan Gainey and Lanier had slow first halves. Gainey was scoreless and Lanier was 0-for-5 from beyond the arc. Gainey scored 10 points while Lanier drilled a couple of 3s as the Vols went on a 21-10 run across the first eight minutes of the second half. At that point, Tennessee’s lead ballooned to 22, all but ending Syracuse’s winning hopes.

Gainey and Lanier combined to score 27 second-half points, over half of Tennessee’s 51 total. All the while Syracuse’s guards continued to struggle. Their production was even worse after the break. Outside of Moore, SU guards had just four points.

With the game already decided, Autry threw Chance Westry on the court for his first action of the season. The Auburn transfer was injured in the offseason and still working back into game shape after being out with an illness for a few weeks.

He lasted just three minutes. Westry’s game-time, in a way, was symbolic of where Syracuse’s guards currently stand. Westry shouldn’t have been expected to make a huge impact in his limited time, but he might be called on in future games despite playing in just 11 games in one season with Auburn.

But that’s just what Syracuse’s current guard situation is. Autry can tinker with the lineup all he wants, but the bottom line is that the Orange’s backcourt depth is a serious problem. Without Starling, SU’s offense looked clueless at times. And with the length of his absence unknown, Syracuse is going to have to figure it out sooner rather than later with conference play approaching.

“Missing J.J. was big, but everyone is part of sports and we gotta move forward until we get him back,” Autry said.

Published on December 4, 2024 at 12:08 am

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