Although Syracuse coach Adrian Autry insists there’s nothing wrong with his team’s offense, the Orange will enter Saturday’s nonconference game against visiting Northeastern ranked last among ACC teams in free-throw percentage.
Syracuse (7-4) is 17th in the 18-team conference in points per game (72.9), largely because the team is shooting 58% from the free throw line (138 of 238).
“We have a great balance offensively,” Autry said. “The one place we have had some issues, some struggles, has been the free-throw line. That’s improving, but we’re getting the shots that we want. We’re putting pressure on the rim. If we didn’t leave those points out there (missed free throws) you know what we’d be doing? Averaging almost 80 points. So stop that. Nothing wrong with our offense.”
Things have been much better at the other end of the court for Syracuse, which is third in the ACC in points allowed per game (64.7).
Donnie Freeman leads Syracuse in scoring (17.8), and forward William Kyle III is ninth among ACC players in rebounds per game (8.2).
Scoring hasn’t been easy for Northeastern this season. The Huskies (4-5) are averaging 72.1 points per game, which is 11th in the CAA.
After losing LA Pratt (17.0 points per game) early to a season-ending foot injury, Youri Fritz (12.9) and Xavier Abreu (11.0) have become the lead options. William Kermoury is shooting 37.8% from 3-point territory and made 6 of 12 3-point shots in Northeastern’s last game, a 73-56 victory over Central Connecticut State on Dec. 7.
“Last year we didn’t take a lot (of 3-pointers) because it wasn’t a great strength of ours, but this year we have a lot more shooters at the college level,” Northeastern coach Bill Coen said. “We’re gonna need to make some threes to stay competitive.”
This will be the first of five straight road games for Northeastern, which is 2-3 away from home. Syracuse is 6-1 in home games this season.
