Takeaways from Miami’s 85-76 win over Syracuse

Miami defeated Syracuse at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday afternoon, 85-76. Both teams, riding two-game losing streaks, entered the game in desperate need of a win.

The Hurricanes were extremely efficient on offense in the win. They shot 61.1% from the field and 53.8% from deep – both of which are ACC highs for Jai Lucas’ squad.

“This was a big win for us, just because we’re coming off two losses, and we needed something to get back on the right side,” Lucas said.

Syracuse entered this game ranked No. 77 in the NET Rankings, meaning that this win slots into the Quadrant 2 category for the Canes. They’re now 3-0 this season against Quad 2 teams.

Miami will return home to face Stanford on Jan. 28 at 9 pm. Here are five takeaways from UM’s win over Syracuse.

Reneau delivers (mostly) complete performance

As Syracuse entered its 2-3 zone defense for large stretches of the game, Reneau sat in the middle of the zone and operated out of the high post very effectively. He ended with a game-high 20 points, 11 rebounds and a season-high five assists.

The one blemish from his day? 

That would be turnovers. Reneau coughed up the ball seven times. He needs to be more decisive when doubled in the low post, as opposing defenses often cave in and trap him when he gets the ball on one of the blocks.

Lineup change

Coming off of two lackluster performances against Clemson and Florida State, senior guard Tre Donaldson was not in the starting lineup for the first time this season. Freshman guard Dante Allen started in his place.

In his first off-the-bench performance of the year, Donaldson was productive, scoring 16 points and dishing out five assists in 29 minutes. 

Malovec shoots out of slump

Freshman forward Timo Malovec, Miami’s de facto three-point specialist, has shot poorly as of late. In the six ACC games before Saturday, he made just two of his 15 perimeter attempts.

He found the bottom of the net against Syracuse, knocking down two of his three shots from deep. Both of his makes came in the second half, as UM pulled away from the Orange.

Junior guard Noam Dovrat also made an impact off UM’s bench, scoring five first-half points.

Zone defense gives Syracuse trouble

Throughout ACC play, Miami has shown its zone defense in stretches, usually late in the first half. Against Syracuse, the Hurricanes alternated between the zone and man defense for most of the second half, which gave the Orange issues.

Syracuse shot just 6 of 21 from deep. Despite their solid scoring output, the zone defense frequently slowed down the Orange offensively, preventing them from mounting a late-game comeback.

“I thought the zone, for us, the zone then going man was a big part of it too. That kind of just threw [Syracuse guard Naithan George] off,” Lucas said. “Because now you’re into your zone offense, and then all of a sudden, you have like three possessions and it’s changed. So I think just giving people different looks at times is a big part of it.”

Starling stifled

One of the players that Miami had to account for on Saturday was J.J. Starling – who leads Syracuse’s backcourt in scoring. 

The Hurricanes held him in check. Starling scored just eight points – his lowest point total in five outings.

Orange leading scorer Donnie Freeman was more effective, totaling 14 points on an efficient 7 of 11 clip from the field. Still, UM prevented Freeman from taking over the game, which he’s often done this season.