Syracuse Orange vs Texas A&M Aggies: Battle 4 Atlantis final

I've been traveling back home from the holidays. So, this post is a little late. 

Battle 4 Atlantis Final
25 Texas A&M vs Syracuse

Syracuse Orange

C DaJuan Coleman: 5

DaJuan Coleman got into foul trouble against Texas A&M. He picked up his third foul in the first two minutes of the second half, and his fourth with more than seven minutes remaining in the game. So, he only played 18 minutes. Coleman only scored four points, shooting 2-4, but he did post up nicely on one possession, backed up his opponent and made the hook. It looked pretty, and made me wish he showed that ability more. I still feel Coleman could be a low post threat, which would add to Syracuse's offensive versatility, and help them rely less on the three point shot. Coleman collected six rebounds this game. He also played fairly well in the middle of the zone despite being Syracuse being outsized by A&M. Coleman did a nice job of coming out to challenge Trocha, who can hit a jumper. However, the Aggies did a nice job of adjusting, and had Trocha feed the other big man Tyler Davis when Coleman came out, and Tyler Roberson was late to help. Coleman had Syracuse's only block this game.

F Tyler Roberson: 2.5

Roberson was rendered ineffective against Texas A&M. He shot only 3-6, and scored six points. He struggled against the bigger Aggies lineup, and doesn't have a mid range jumper to fall back on. Roberson also had trouble rebounding against the Aggies; he finished the game with only four, and had only one offensive rebound. Roberson also picked up four fouls, though he did not pick up his fourth until late in the second half. This was far from Roberson's best performance. He was beginning to make some progress prior to this matchup. Usually he at least is a good contributor on the glass, but not this game.

F Malachi Richardson: 4.5

Malachi Richardson's biggest struggle in this game was what it has been thus far this season: shot selection. He shot 4-11 from the field, and made only two of eight of his 3pt attempts. Richardson continues to struggle when shooting early in the shot clock, but has more success when driving to the basket. Richardson did shot well from the FT line though, making all six of his attempts. He scored 16 points overall. Richardson did a better job cutting down his turnovers, only turning the ball over once this game.

G Trevor Cooney: 5.5

Cooney continues to accumulate points; he scored 15. But, he is still shooting poorly, shooting 5-16 and 2-8 from beyond the arc. On the season Cooney has only shot 36% from the field, and 21% from 3pt range, both of those numbers are in line with Cooney's disappointing junior year. Despite his inconsistent shooting, Cooney remains one of the best top of the zone defenders in Syracuse's history. He stole the ball three times this game. Cooney also finished the game with five assists and five steals.

G Michael Gbinije: 8.5

The Syracuse leader had an outstanding tournament, averaging 21 points through the three game series. Gbinije had his worst shooting game of the week, making only four of his eleven attempts. However, all four of his buckets were made from 3pt point range. He also shot 8-11 from the FT line, scoring a total of 20 points. On the season Gbinije is shooting 53% overall, and 51.3% from beyond the arc, which are a couple of incredibly rates. He is averaging just under 20 points a game. Gbinije has increased his turnover rate this season. He is turning the ball over 2.8 times this season, compared to 2.1 times last year (with the same number of minutes). But, he is also accumulating more assists this season 4.2 to 3.6. He had four assists and four turnovers against Texas A&M. Gbinije continues to be a great top of the zone defender. He positions himself well, is one of the biggest threats to gather steals in the country, and is long enough to challenge shooters from anywhere. Jalen Jones did give him some trouble this game, as he stationed himself just above the FT line, and found lots of scoring opportunities there.

F Tyler Lydon: 8

Tyler Lydon has played well all season, but this tournament may have been his coming out celebration. Lydon scored 13 points against the Aggies, while taking only five shots; he made four f them. He hit all three of his 3pt attempts, scoring 13 points total. Thus far on the season, he is shooting 52.5% from the field, and almost 59% from three! Lydon is also proving to be a good rebounder despite his lack of girth, instead he uses his length to capture the ball high, especially on the defensive end. He grabbed eight rebounds this game. Lydon struggled some in the middle of the zone against Texas A&M. Jalen Jones caused problems for him on the short corner, luckily neither Trocha nor Davis took many shots inside for the Aggies. I still worry Lydon will struggle against ACC teams with solid big men: Miami, with Jekiri, Duke with Plumlee and Jefferson, UNC with Meeks and Brice Johnson, etc.

G Kaleb Joseph: N/A

Did not play enough to qualify.

Team Rating: 5.78

Syracuse had a great tournament, playing up to the higher level of competition, after looking pretty bad their first three games. The front court looked good against UCONN and Charlotte, but struggled some against the bigger Aggies. Syracuse was out rebounded this game as well. Syracuse is winning games right now on the strength of their shooters. Richardson, Cooney, Lydon, and Gbinije—particularly the latter two—have been playing well on the offensive end. The team is shooting 41.1% from 3pt range thus far this season, which is ten points higher than last season when they shot 30.1%. This, combined with the fact the frontcourt has been inconsistent, has me worried. Will Syracuse be able to put points on the board when the 3's aren't falling? The team needs to continue to commit to driving to the basket. That will free up shooters, and hopefully, the post players as well. The zone is interesting this year. Gbinije and Cooney may be the best tandem at the top of the zone in Syracuse's history. However, the middle is filled by the inexperienced Coleman and Lydon. Coleman lacks height, and Lydon is built like a pencil. I worry they'll be overmatched by stronger, bigger frontcourts. Syracuse also has very little depth down low, so they cannot afford to lose their big men to foul trouble. Syracuse did a lot to prove their doubters this week. They will be ranked tomorrow, and will possibly break into the top-20. They will be favored in upcoming games against Georgetown and Wisconsin. However, there is still work to do for the Orange, and many areas for improvement.

Texas A&M Aggies

C Tonny Trocha-Morelos: 4

Trocha is a big man who can also stretch the floor. He was shooting 11-14 from beyond the arc coming into this game against Syracuse. However, he failed to make a 3pt shot for just the second time this season. He also failed to score in double digits for just the second time this season, only accumulating six points against the Orange. Trocha was an asset on the offensive glass though; he grabbed eight total rebounds, and six came on the offensive end. Unfortunately, he struggled finishing, shooting only 3-11 from the field, and only one missed field goal was from 3pt range.

C Tyler Davis: 5

Tyler Davis is probably the toughest big man Syracuse has faced this season. A top-50 recruit coming into the season, Davis has had a lot of success early this year. Davis played good defense against Syracuse inside. He blocked three shots, and finished the game with seven rebounds. Davis was not as successful on the offensive end. He was held to just five field goal attempts, and scored only eight points. Davis had scored in double digits his first five college games. Davis did miss some time in the second half trying to clean up a bloodied hand. But, he still played 22 minutes (24 minutes is his career high).

G Danuel House: 6

House made a few clutch shots in the second half, which prevented Syracuse from taking control until late despite the game's tide turning. However, he missed a lot of shots too, trying to force things against the zone, and having his worst shooting performance of the year. He finished 5-12 from the field, and 3-8 from 3pt range for a total of 15 points. House added five rebounds as well. But, he struggled defensively against the seemingly quicker and more athletic Richardson when the latter decided to take the ball to the basket in the second half.

G Alex Caruso: 4.5

Caruso's greatest contributions in this game came on the defensive end, where he did a great job of drawing offensive fouls against Syracuse's bigger, and sometimes reckless guards. Caruso also showed off some quick hands, snagging three steals. One of which he took right out of Tyler Roberson's hands following a pass from Gbinije. Caruso has now recorded three steals in four different games this year. Despite a stellar defensive performance, Caruso scored zero points, despite playing 26 minutes. He was 0-3 from the field, taking all three of his shots from beyond the arc. Caruso did have five assists in the game, but he also turned the ball over five times. Caruso is a difficult player to grade because he helped out a lot on defensive disturbing Syracuse's offense, but he had nothing to offer offensively.

G Anthony Collins: 4

Anthony Collins has become Texas A&M's primary ball handler in place of Caruso. He is not a dynamic scorer; he's only scored in double figures once in seven games this season, and that was with a seven made FT performance against Texas earlier this tournament He scored only two points this game, making his only field goal attempt. Collins is however, a good ball handler, and has does well directing this team thus far this season. He tallied five assists this game and did not turn the ball over against Syracuse. Collins did well to penetrate the zone off the dribble, and press the attack down the stretch. However, Collins was responsible for the flagrant foul against Malachi Richardson, which proved to be a momentum shifter. He also struggled defensively against Syracuse's bigger guards.

F DJ Hogg: 3.5

DJ Hogg is another top-50 recruit who is a small forward with skills like a guard. He came off the bench, and played 21 minutes against Syracuse. Hogg had a tough shooting night though. He was only 2-8 from the field, and made only one of his five attempts from deep. Hogg struggled this tournament on the offensive end after scoring in double figures his first three collegiate games. Hogg was a necessary defender in place of Collins or Caruso at times due to the size of Syracuse's guards.

G Jalen Jones: 9

Jalen Jones has had a slow start to the season after being named to the All-SEC second team last year. He missed the first four games of the season, and scored nine and six points in the Aggies' first two games of this tournament. However, Jones kick started his season in the Battle 4 Atlantis final against Syracuse. Jones, again coming off the bench, took roamed the 2-3 zone's two biggest areas of weakness all game: the short corner, and just above the free throw line. From those two positions he pestered Syracuse hitting mid range jumpers, and easily accessing the basket for lay ins. Jones finished the game 10-17, and even hit his only 3pt attempt, scoring a total of 23 points. He also added six rebounds, three of which came on offense. Jones kept Texas A&M in this game until the final minutes, and the Aggies should see his resurgence as a positive takeaway from this game.

G Admon Gilder: 6

Admon Gilder is a third four-star recruit for the Aggies. He has been playing some big minutes thus far this season, but has yielded some to Jones since he came back this tournament. This game he did a good job of giving his team an additional offensive spark. He shot 3-6 from the field, and made one of two 3pt shots. He scored eight points.

F Tavario Miller: N/A

Did not play enough to qualify.

F Elijah Thoma: N/A

Thomas gives Texas A&M a third top-50 recruit this season, and fourth four-star freshman. However, he played only three minutes in this game, fouling three times quickly, and turning it over twice. He thankfully did not play enough to qualify.

Team Rating: 5.48

Texas A&M had a very good tournament, which included a close takedown of #10, Gonzaga. They struggled against Syracuse's zone this game however, shooting only 30% from 3pt range, and 42.2% overall. Their big man Tonny Trocha-Morelos was especially ineffective despite being bigger than Syracuse's big men, and grabbing six offensive rebounds. Jalen Jones took advantage of the zone's areas of weakness, but the rest of the team struggled to get involved. DJ Hogg would have added a wrinkle if he could knock down some shots from the corners, and force Syracuse's wings to play deeper, rather than give them the ability to extend the zone. The Aggies did a good job of containing Syracuse in the first half, and forced several offensive fouls, while failing to foul themselves. However, that changed in the second half, when Syracuse found themselves in the bonus situation with more than 13 minutes remaining in the game. Jalen Jones' comeback gives Texas A&M another potent scorer beside Danuel House, and the team should be dangerous moving forward if their shooters can hit more shots. I do not love that the Aggies start two backcourt players with limited offensive upside: Collins and Caruso, and think Jones and Gilder may be better options. Still, this is a fun team with a lot of potential. They have a good mix of seniors: House, Caruso, and Jones, and high upside freshman: Davis, Hogg, Gilder, and Thomas.