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Message: [QUOTE="sutomcat, post: 2815231, member: 27"] [B][URL="https://accsports.com/acc-analytics/why-syracuse-needs-tyus-battle-to-continue-to-attack-the-rim/"]Why Syracuse needs Tyus Battle to continue to attack the rim - ACCSports.com[/URL] (accsports.com; Geisinger)[/B] [I] After some lofty preseason expectations, there was some unease around Syracuse in the middle of November. Non-conference games before the December solstice don’t usually make or break a season, but in back-to-back losses over UConn and Oregon, Syracuse slumped offensively.[/I] [I]In both of those games, Syracuse scored under one point possession and shot just 37.6 percent from the field (44-of-117 FGA) and 22 percent (11-of-50 3PA) from beyond the arc. The Orange also assisted on only 50 percent of its field goals in that stretch, too.[/I] [I]Tyus Battle works the engine room for Syracuse’s offense. Without Frank Howard in those two defeats, Battle was tasked with doing even more. It didn’t go great, either; Battle shot just 11-of-27 from the field (40.7 FG%, 42.6 eFG%).[/I] [I]Since then, however, Battle has caught fire — getting to the rim and hitting his spot-up looks from deep. For whatever it’s worth, that coincided with the return of Howard. Over the last three games, Battle has passed the ball less and shot more — 23.3 points points per game (65 FG%, 72.7 3P%). As a result, he was named ACC Player of the Week.[/I] [I]For the season, Battle is playing an efficient brand of basketball. His sub-10 percent turnover rate is solid for a high-usage wing, and he’s getting to the free throw line a bunch, too, which is big. Battle averaged 10.5 free throw attempts — up from 8.6 last season — and just 2.2 turnovers per 100 possessions. Spot-up Game As freshman back in the 2016-17 season, Battle was a productive second-side offensive player. Playing next to John Gillon, Andrew White III and Tyler Lydon, Battle posted a usage rate of 18.2 percent. That year, the majority of his field goal attempts (56 percent) came from beyond the arc, too. Now as the lead dog for the Orange on offense, Battle spends way more time at the rim or in the midrange — less than 25 percent of his field goal attempts are of the three-point variety.[/I] ... [/QUOTE]

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