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After a slow start against Georgetown, a run at the end of the first half sealed a third-straight win for Syracuse. Jesse Edwards finished with a double-double for the fourth time this season and Judah Mintz dished out a game-high 10 assists in what proved to be a 19-point win over Georgetown. Now, after three-straight losses, the Orange look to Monmouth to be their fourth-straight win and to move two games over .500 in nonconference play.

The Hawks are in the midst of their worst start since 2019, having lost all but one of their first 10 games. Two games ago, they notched their sole win of the season with a 76-69 win over Manhattan, then most recently fell by 37 points to Princeton on Saturday. They have one of the worst offenses in the game and are only 60% or higher in opponent steal percentage. Led by junior Myles Foster, Monmouth, under 12th-year head coach King Rice, is averaging just 61.5 points per game and has a scoring margin of -21.4 throughout its historically poor start.  

Here’s everything you need to know about Monmouth before it squares off with Syracuse:

All-time series

Syracuse leads 2-0.

Last time they played

The Orange welcomed Monmouth to the Dome in 2016 in what ended up being an easy 71-50 victory to move SU to 3-0 as part of the Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational. Graduate senior Andrew White III led all scorers with 18 points, all of which came in the first half, allowing Syracuse to open up a 37-29 advantage by halftime. Then, it came out of the break scoring six straight unanswered points, culminating in a dominant lead that stretched to as many as 25 points. 

Monmouth managed to shoot just 31.3% from the field and 4-of-29 from beyond the arc. It was the third-straight game that the Orange held their opponent to under 60 points. Freshman Taurean Thompson added 12 points, while Tyus Battle finished with nine and Frank Howard added eight. Eight different SU players managed to score and 14 different players — including current assistant coach Adrian Autry — saw time on the court during the win. 

While Syracuse topped off its early-season winning streak with a blowout against South Carolina State, it ultimately finished 2016-17 at 19-15 with a 10-8 conference record and fell to Ole Miss in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Kenpom odds

Syracuse has a 96% chance of winning, with a projected score of 78-59.

The Hawks report

It’s been a rough start to the 2022-23 campaign for Rice and the Hawks. After a 21-win regular season and a loss to eventual NCAA Tournament cinderella Saint Peter’s in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s championship game, the Hawks lost their three top contributors to graduation. That thrusted Foster into a key role this season, one that he’s translated into averaging 11.4 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting a second-best 44.9% from the field.

The rest of Monmouth has combined to produce an abysmal effective field-goal percentage of 44% that ranks 339th in the nation. It also ranks 317th in two-point shooting percentage while only connecting on 28.8% of 3-pointers. Defensively, the Hawks are allowing teams to shoot over 40% from deep and 57.4% from the field.

While they’ve had difficult opponents such as Virginia and Illinois, they’ve also fallen to teams such as Lehigh, Rider and Norfolk State. Even in their only win against Manhattan, the Hawks nearly let the Jaspers come back in the second half. As of Sunday, KenPom projected Monmouth to finish 7-24 with a team reeling from the losses of three key contributors.

How Syracuse beats Monmouth

The Edwards-Girard combination with a sprinkle of Mintz seems to have been working pretty well over the last three wins. And, when the Orange shoot at least 40% from the field — which they should do against a middling Monmouth defense — they’re 6-1. But the Orange need to have smart, calculated possessions at the beginning of the game in order to cement a sizable lead by halftime. Syracuse almost got caught in a slow start against the Hoyas and needed a big run to close out the first half in order to come out on top.

Syracuse just doesn’t operate as a flashy team yet and needs to stack successful possessions in order to build momentum on offense. If Mintz drives and the lane collapses, he needs to kick out. If Girard gets a pass on the outside, he can’t drive, pull up and hope for a contested midrange shot. This team is fueled underneath by Edwards, and he should be the focal point of the offense, either anchoring down Monmouth defenders to open up shots from deep or facilitating pick and rolls.

Stat to know: 0.59 years

Monmouth’s roster averages just over a half-year of experience at the Division I level, making the Hawks the eighth-youngest team in college basketball. The inexperience has hindered the start of the season for Monmouth and should prove to be something Syracuse picks apart in the Dome. It’s an unfamiliar venue to play in and Edwards and Girard make SU a more experienced team that can capitalize on young players’ mistakes throughout the game.

Player to watch: Myles Ruth, guard, No. 24

Ruth is in his third season with the Hawks, but is starting for the first time since his freshman year. While the 6-foot guard isn’t the focal point of the young Hawks team, he has three games with double-digit points and can toss in three assists and two or three rebounds per night. Monmouth’s back court is the only area of experience this season and as the point guard, he’ll test a Syracuse defense that can — at times — have difficulty in transition. Ruth also frequently gets into foul trouble, committing at least three fouls in six of Monmouth’s 10 games this season.

Published on December 11, 2022 at 10:10 pm

Contact Anthony: aalandt@syr.edu | @anthonyalandt