Jim Boeheim didn’t shy away from criticizing his team’s offensive output this season.

While speaking to reporters in the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center on Wednesday, he harped on Syracuse’s struggles from beyond the arc and at the foul line this season.

“We probably have offensive statistics for a team that is 4-14 at the end of the year,” Boeheim said.

The Orange (18-12, 9-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) is 13th out of 15 ACC teams in 3-point percentage, posting a 30.2 percentage from long distance. From the foul line, SU ranks 12th, shooting 66 percent from the charity stripe.

If it wasn’t for a stretch during which Michael Gbinije caught fire, Syracuse may be even worse off. From Jan. 26 to Feb. 18, Gbinije made at least two 3s and shot 40 percent or better from behind the arc in each of Syracuse’s six games during that span.

“We were at the bottom of the 3-point shooting teams in the league anyway, but if you take Mike’s run out we were the worst 3-point shooting team in the league,” Boeheim said. “And we were, I believe, the worst free-throw shooting team in the league. We had issues on offense.”

And while Boeheim was three spots off on his second claim, the Orange is shooting below 31 percent from 3-point range for the first time since the 1993–94 season. From the foul line, SU is having its worst performance since the 2008–09 campaign.

After Chris McCullough tore his ACL, Syracuse was hindered on the offensive end, Boeheim said. Though the freshman shot 56.3 percent from the line, he averaged 9.3 points per game and scored in double figures in the first eight contests of the season.

“When we lost Chris McCullough we lost such a key factor, I think, for a guy that would have really had an effect on both ends of the court,” Boeheim said. “Not just offensively but defensively as well. I believe he would have progressed, he would’ve gotten to be a much better player and he would’ve made a difference for our basketball team.”

Syracuse has scored fewer than 60 points six times and it’s arguably been the ugliest as of late, as SU barely averaged 50 points per game in its recent losses to Duke and Virginia.

The Orange shot 15 percent from 3 and 30.6 percent from the field against the Blue Devils, and posted a 21.1 percent mark from beyond the arc against the Cavaliers. The last two games have been somewhat of a microcosm for the season and Boeheim could only offer a simple solution to his team’s offensive woes.

“That’s just something that we have to get better at in the future,” Boeheim said. “We have to shoot better.”

Published on March 4, 2015 at 7:38 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman