Boeheim’s Army is out of the best-of-3 comfort zone now.
After sweeping Hall In to move through the opening round of The Basketball Tournament, Syracuse’s team heads to Lexington, Kentucky, for a winner-take-all matchup with La Familia. One team moves on, one team is done. That’s the whole deal from here.
La Familia, built mostly around former Kentucky players, needed three games to get past The Ville, the Louisville-based entry. If Boeheim’s Army gets through Sunday, it will face the winner of Aftershocks and JHX Hoops on Wednesday, and that game would also be on the road. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 2, with the alumni bracket champion hosting.
Sunday’s game is set for 2 p.m. at Memorial Coliseum and will be shown on Fox.
Boeheim’s Army’s roster picture took a hit Thursday night when Eric Devendorf injured his left knee while closing out on a 3-point shooter at the Onondaga War Memorial. He had to be helped off the court and to the locker room after the game. Devendorf said afterward the knee would keep him from playing any further, though he expected to be in Lexington on Sunday to back his team.
That leaves Boeheim’s Army thin in the backcourt, with just seven available players. Shaun Belbey said Saturday that Wes Johnson is expected to play Sunday after missing the first two TBT games.
Chris McCullough, who Belbey activated from a reserve list, will not play. JaCorey Williams is questionable.
The biggest concern may be up front. Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu has been excellent in this tournament, but he limped out in the second half Thursday with what looked like a leg, ankle or foot issue.
He did return, and Belbey said afterward he’s ready to go Sunday. Still, relying on Cole Swider and/or Jimmy Boeheim at center is far from ideal if Boeheim’s Army needs to spell KAE.
La Familia brings a dangerous mix of familiar names and production. Archie Goodwin played only in Game 3 of that series, but he made the most of it with 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting.
Darryl Morsell added 20 points and five rebounds, while Willie Cauley-Stein, the 7-footer and No. 6 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, posted 10 points and 11 rebounds. Quade Green was on the roster for Game 3, though he did not play.
Buddy Boeheim called it what it is: a step up in competition.
“They’ve got some young guys that are really good that I’ve played against and then some vets,” Buddy Boeheim said. “I saw Archie Goodwin played last night (Wednesday), so it’s going to be a big test.
It’s what we need after tonight. I think we’ll be ready to go.”
Elijah Hughes kept his answer short and sharp:
“I like us against anybody,” he said.
The numbers tell the story of how this one could tilt. Cole Swider has been one of the tournament’s top scorers at 21.5 points per game, while Akobundu-Ehiogu is right behind him for Boeheim’s Army at 15.5. For La Familia, Morsell is averaging 15 and Andrew Harrison 12.
On the glass, Swider is leading the entire tournament at 10.5 rebounds per game, with Akobundu-Ehiogu sixth at 8. Cauley-Stein is La Familia’s top rebounder at 6.3, followed by Morsell at 5.7.
Boeheim’s Army has also gotten elite efficiency from Akobundu-Ehiogu, who ranks sixth in field goal percentage at 93.8 percent. Swider is shooting 51.9 percent. For La Familia, Cauley-Stein is at 85.7 percent, and Chris Coffey is at 54.5.
In the passing game, Tyson Walker has been one of the tournament’s best distributors, ranking second with 7 assists per game. Ty Nichols is averaging 3.5 assists.
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