Syracuse (14-6, 5-2 Atlantic Coast) lost a tightly contested game, 66-62, to Miami (14-5, 4-2) on Saturday afternoon in the Carrier Dome. Here are three takeaways from the ACC showdown.

1. Beef Jekiri

Syracuse hadn’t seen a rim protector of this level all season.

It didn’t take long for Miami’s 7-foot, 244-pound center to assert himself on the Carrier Dome floor. Tonye Jekiri snatched three offensive boards in the first three minutes of the game and had two blocks in the first four minutes, then swatted away another SU shot seven minutes later.

Jekiri also played sound post defense on Rakeem Christmas, holding the SU senior to just 2-of-6 shooting in an uncharacteristically inefficient first half. The Orange somewhat neutralized Jekiri’s dominance on the boards in the second half and Christmas found his groove on offense, but it couldn’t negate his effect in the opening 20 minutes.

2. Rober, son

As Syracuse moves on without Chris McCullough, Tyler Roberson’s growth becomes more and more vital. And he made positive strides Saturday.

The Hurricanes’ game plan didn’t always assign Jekiri to Christmas and allowed the UM big man to roam around the paint and protect the rim. But that strategy created openings for Roberson, who led the Orange with eight points at halftime and again showcased his abilities on the glass by pulling down eight rebounds by the break.

He recorded his fourth double-double of the year, finishing with 10 points and 14 rebounds.

3. Not-so-free throws

The same issue that kept Virginia Tech and Boston College in the game against Syracuse also kept the Orange behind the eight-ball Saturday. The Orange made just 1-of-4 from the line in the first half against UM, then just 7-of-15 in the second half, including an intentional miss from Christmas.

Losing by just four, SU couldn’t afford to shoot 8-for-19 from the charity stripe, and it did.

Published on January 24, 2015 at 6:16 pm