The Orange were out-rebounded by 10 on Thursday against St. Joseph's and after the game, Adrian Autry had a message for his guards.
On the positive side, the Syracuse University men's basketball team topped St. Joseph's on Thursday night at the JMA Wireless Dome to move to 6-3 on the season.
On the down side? The Orange shot just 54 percent at the foul line (15-of-28), and they were out-rebounded by 10.
Head coach Adrian Autry was happy with the victory, but he spoke postgame about the dips in effort and attention to detail, saying they need to improve. He also implored his guards to get in on the rebounding action more.
"...We have to battle, and a lot of that is, our guards have to do a better job at rebounding. I thought JJ (Starling) got in there and did something, but Nate George, he needs to get some rebounds. Kiyan (Anthony) has to do a better job in there. Sadiq (White), you know, we just, again, our energy level was not there today. And again, when you look at that difference, a lot of it came at some crucial times, at the end of the game where we get them, we get a stop, we get a miss and we just can't get the ball. So we've got to do a better job of that. Again, it all goes back to a level five (energy) and it was not there today, not there at all."
Syracuse had 34 rebounds for the day and senior William Kyle III had 11 of them. No other player had more than five for Syracuse (Nate Kingz). Anthony had zero rebounds in 20 minutes of action.
In fairness, Syracuse was missing 6'9'' big man Donnie Freeman, who has missed four straight games with a right foot injury, but considering they don't know when he'll be back, they have to find a way to attack the glass in his absence.
Up next
The Orange will be at home again on Saturday afternoon (4 p.m. ET) when they host Hofstra at the JMA Wireless Dome. We'll have live on-site coverage from Brady Farkas, who you can follow on social media @RefuseToLosePod.
Hofstra is 7-4 on the season and is coming off a 92-23 win over Division III Old Westbury.
The Pride defeated Pittsburgh of the ACC on Dec. 7, winning 80-73, meaning they cannot be taken lightly. They have also beaten Bucknell, a generally strong mid-major program.
They've suffered tough losses against Central Florida (82-78) and Iona (81-73).
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