Orange You Glad For A Bench?

For the second straight season a Syracuse player, in this case Tyus Battle, paces the ACC in floor time.

Syracuse has been in the conference for five years. At least one of its players has ranked annually among the ACC’s top two in minutes played per game in each of those seasons.

The Orange contended immediately for a spot in the upper echelon upon entering the league, finishing second in 2014. Mostly, though, despite their Hall of Fame coach and their tradition, they’ve been mediocre at best since joining the ACC. The ‘Cuse finished 8^th in the league in 2015, tied for 9^th in 2016, tied for 7th with two other teams last season. Right now, coming off a win at Louisville, Syracuse is 10^th at 5-6.

In other words, not particularly noteworthy other than a surprise Final Four trip in 2016.

To be sure, there are plenty of explanations for the dip in fortunes, from injuries to recruiting misses, early departures to an NCAA probation to bad breaks. One might wonder, however, if pushing key performers to their physical limits game after game is a factor.

In four of five ACC seasons the Orange have had at least a pair of performers among the leaders in minutes played per game. This year they have three.

Right now guard Tyus Battle is atop the ACC with 38.6 minutes logged per contest. He played all 40 minutes in the win against the Cardinals the other night, as did teammate Frank Howard, third in the league in minutes played. If Battle’s average stands through season’s end, it will be the most usage for any league player since Virginia guard Curtis Staples accumulated 39.1 minutes per outing in 30 games in 1998.