When the Syracuse men's basketball team lost to Hofstra on Saturday afternoon, I wrote that this team is better suited to force turnovers and play in transition, rather than playing a half-court game.

After Wednesday's win against Mercyhurst, maybe fans said they felt the same way - and even the official TV broadcast implored the Orange to utilize their athleticism for the sake of getting out in transition. 

However, after the game, head coach Adrian Autry issued a defiant defense of his offense:

"Oh, yeah, I’ve seen a lot of growth. You know, there’s nothing wrong with our offense.

We shoot 46, 47% from a two-point. Right. From the three? Right around 31, 32, maybe a little bit better. Right. We have a great balance offensively. All right?

The one thing, the place that we have had some issues and struggles with has been a free-throw line. Right? That’s improving, right? That’s improving. But we’re getting the shots that we want. You know, we’re putting pressure on the rim. We get to the free throw line about 22 times a game because we got guys that can put pressure on the rim.

We left some points out there because of our free-throw shooting. If we didn’t leave those points out there, do you know what we’d be doing? We’d be averaging almost 80 points. That’s what we’d be doing...

So there’s nothing wrong with our offense. And by the way, we played against four of the top 10 defenses in the country, and we’re able to score enough to keep us right there. All right, so let’s stop that. There’s nothing wrong with our offense."

So, let's start to take a little look and what Autry is right about, and where maybe he's missing the point:

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Where Autry is right: Balanced attack

The Orange have four players averaging in double-figures this season. Donnie Freeman leads the way with 17.8 ppg, though he's only played four games. Kiyan Anthony averages 10.9, William Kyle III averages 10.8 and JJ Starling averages 10.6.

Syracuse had five players in double-figures in Wednesday's win. On the positive side, they are not 'one player dependent.' They have multiple players capable of contributing and Sadiq White, Nate Kingz and Tyler Betsey have each had big games offensively also.

Where Autry has a point also: Injury issues

Autry didn't say this, but we're saying it for him. This team hasn't been whole for most of the season. Starling missed most of the first three games with injury and Freeman has missed the last seven because of a right foot issue. They can't be expected to look like a well-oiled machine when they've played most of the season without their intended lineups, especially when Freeman and Starling are their two best pure scorers.

Where Autry is wrong: FT shooting is not improving

Syracuse entered play on Wednesday as the worst free-throw shooting team in the nation. They did have a good Wednesday, going 12-of-16, but they went just 9-of-16 against Hofstra in a game they lost by a point. They went 15-of-28 against St. Joseph's the game before.

Where Autry is wrong: Balanced offensive attack

The numbers are right: Syracuse is shooting 30.0 percent from three-point range, but that's not good enough. Entering play on Wednesday, the Orange were 305th nationally in three-point percentage. That has to improve and it shouldn't be used as a positive argument. If you're going to shoot that poorly, you have to attack the rim even more. The problem when you attack the rim? You aren't rewarded if you can't hit your free-throws.

Where Autry is wrong: The ppg total

Syracuse has played 11 games. Four of them are against NCAA Tournament-caliber teams. Seven have been against teams that Syracuse should have rolled over. I'm not that interested in hearing about "80 ppg" against the likes of Binghamton, Drexel, Mercyhurst and Hofstra. By the way, the Orange scored 70 and 76 against two of those opponents.

Where Syracuse can improve

I maintain that this team is not good enough in the half-court, despite what Autry says. That said, two things can help. One is the return of Freeman from injury, as his presence should open things up for shooters on the outside to get better and looks, and the other is comfort from the new players.

Anthony, Betsey and White are all freshmen. As they move through the season, they should get more comfortable with how they fit in the offense, the same for transfers Naithan George and Nate Kingz. If they do, the offense can go to another level.

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