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Syracuse did many things right but still ended with a 77-73 loss to Pitt on Saturday. The Orange out-rebounded the Panthers 48-31, had five different scorers reach double-figures and tied their season-high with 11 triples.

Two days after losing its sixth Atlantic Coast Conference game, SU traveled to the West Coast for its first-ever meeting against Stanford. The Orange, who got out to an early nine-point lead against the Panthers, trailed 25-2 in the first half against the Cardinal.

After facing its second-largest first-half deficit of the season, Syracuse recovered to trail by nine at halftime. But Maxime Raynaud and the Cardinal ensured the Orange wouldn’t complete the comeback, matching Syracuse over the final 20 minutes to hand SU its third straight loss.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (9-12, 3-7 ACC) 70-61 loss to Stanford (15-6, 7-3 ACC):

Slowest start of the season

SU’s slow starts have been well-documented this season. It fell into early deficits against Cornell, Notre Dame and Clemson and still found a way to turn two of those contests into victories. Though against Stanford, Syracuse suffered its worst start of the season, trailing 25-2 with 10:54 left in the first half.

The Cardinal scored the first 17 points of the game before Kyle Cuffe Jr. got the Orange’s first points with 12:25 minutes left in the first half. Raynaud scored eight early points, and Stanford forced Syracuse into three turnovers.

Syracuse started ice cold from the field, shooting 1-of-9, while Stanford shot 9-of-15 as the Orange fell behind 25-2. Needing a switch in momentum, SU head coach Adrian Autry turned to his bench midway through the quarter and they delivered.

Cuffe and Jaquan Carlos combined to score Syracuse’s first nine points and then set the table for the starters to get involved. Behind a significant run, Syracuse went into halftime down 33-24.

SU starters quiet early

Through about 13 minutes, Syracuse’s starters combined to shoot 0-of-6. Eddie Lampkin Jr., who recorded a double-double against Pitt, hadn’t attempted a shot, and J.J. Starling, who was coming off a 16-point performance, couldn’t settle into his rhythm.

Though, after the eight-minute media timeout, the Orange’s first starter scored. Carlos, who scored five of SU’s first nine points, found Lucas Taylor in the corner for 3. After a defensive stop, Starling got his first basket on a driving layup.

About a minute later, Jyáre Davis tallied his first point at the free throw line, and Lampkin followed with a deuce on SU’s next possession. The Orange’s scoring became contagious, as Starling netted a triple and Davis drove the lane for a contested lay-in.

SU pulled within seven points with about three minutes left in the first half, but Stanford went into the break leading by nine. While the Cardinal received a majority of their points from their starters, the Orange were led by Carlos’ seven points off the bench.

Bigs discrepancy

Raynaud, who entered with an-ACC-leading 20.5 points per game, scored the first five points of the game. After hitting a triple, the 7-foot-1 senior nailed a triple before beating SU center Lampkin on the block for two.

While Stanford got out to a 9-0 lead, Raynaud continued to increase SU’s deficit. He returned to the top of the key, where he hit his first 3 and repeated the action, increasing the Cardinal’s lead to 12-0.

Raynaud’s early success propelled Stanford to an early 23-point lead and gave the Cardinal an advantage in the frontcourt to carry into the rest of the game. For SU, Lampkin didn’t score until there was under five minutes left in the first half with a jumper on the right block.

After scoring double-digits in each of the last six games, Lampkin was off his game in the first half. With under two minutes left in the first half, Lampkin was met by a double team on the same block but threw the ball away to Stanford.

Raynaud registered an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double in the first half, while Lampkin scored just two points and four rebounds in the first half despite playing 19 minutes. Raynaud returned to form in the second half, finishing with 21 points while Lampkin tallied 12.

Jaquan Carlos gets hot

In a season where Carlos has gone from starter to bench player, he didn’t look like he had faced an up-and-down season against Stanford. When SU trailed by 23 points in the first half, Carlos’ play helped the Orange cut their deficit to seven points a few minutes before halftime.

In the first half, Carlos scored seven points to lead SU. In the second half, he picked up where he left off. Five minutes into the second half, Carlos helped force a jump ball on defense to get possession back for the Orange.

Then, he grew his confidence from beyond the arc, knocking down a triple midway through the second half. With Syracuse trying to close the gap with under two minutes left, Carlos got into the paint and rose for a jumper.

Though SU fell short of a comeback, Carlos scored nine points in the second half as he tied his season-high with 16 points.

Published on January 30, 2025 at 1:22 am

Contact Timmy at: tswilcox@syr.edu | @TimmyWilcox32