SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Syracuse University men's basketball team dropped a very tough contest on Saturday night against mid-major foe Hofstra at the JMA Wireless Dome.

The 70-69 defeat will do nothing but hurt the Orange when it comes a possible NCAA Tournament resume, and now the Orange will have to play exceptionally well in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play in order to have a chance at the tournament for the first time since 2020-21.

However, as tough as the final result was, the game wasn't all bad. Let's explain:

The bright spot: Kiyan Anthony looked more comfortable

The talented freshman looked excellent in the early non-conference schedule, but then has struggled as the competition ramped up. He had 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting against No. 3 Houston, then had six points on 2-of-12 shooting against Kansas. He followed that up with eight points (3-of-8) against Iowa State and seven points (2-of-5) against Tennessee. He had just six points (1-of-6) against St. Joseph's.

In addition to the low totals and percentages, Anthony also saw his minutes drop, reaching a season-low 17 against Tennessee.

However, Anthony looked much comfortable on Saturday, scoring 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, and doing it in 24 minutes. He was also on the floor at the end of the game, in crunch time, and he had the ball in his hands for Syracuse's last possession, which ended in controversy.

What Adrian Autry said after the game

The head coach was asked about Anthony's play - and the trust to have him on the floor at the end.

"I thought Kiyan got in there, I thought he was aggressive. I thought when we got him the ball, he made the right plays. He's very good at attacking the rim, I thought he did that. I thought he got in there and made some plays and that was the reason we put him in in certain places. We tried to get him the ball in certain places and when we got it there, he executed what we needed him to do..."

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What's next for Anthony

On the micro, he just needs to keep finding ways to make an impact. Sometimes that will be scoring, sometimes that will be playmaking and defending. If he can keep making a positive impact, then he'll find more minutes and will find more opportunities to generate volume scoring chances.

On the macro? Anthony needs to continue getting stronger, which will allow him to use his athleticism to play through contact and finish more regularly at the rim.

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