3 Thoughts from SU vs Marquette

1. Free Throws: SU had a fine free throw shooting percentage-they shot 71.4 percent from the line-but they were unable to get to the line enough. They shot 7 free throws while Marquette shot a whopping 35 free throws on the night. If the Orange wants to get back on a winning track, they will have to do so without fouling.

2. C.J. Fair: Fair is becoming more of the focal point of this team as the season progresses and putting an emphasis on him getting the ball more often might be a smart idea. Coach Jim Boeheim typically likes to spread the wealth offensively but considering the troubles that they have had, it might be a smart idea to get the ball to their most consistent player.

3. The defense: The 2-3 zone was exploited by the heroic effort of Otto Porter Jr of Georgetown on Saturday and a similar effort was felt by Davante Gardner of Marquette. Gardner scored 26 points while shooting a perfect seven for seven from the field and 12 of 13 from the charity stripe. The hyper efficiency from Gardner was one of the main issues for SU as they couldn’t stray from their zone to lock him up. The interior part of the zone was exposed, indicative of the number of free throws taken by Marquette.