Most basketball aficionados and analysts will tell you, the best way to beat a good zone defense is to make threes. And lots of them. Villanova did just that out of the gate hitting five in just over eight minutes on route to an early 18 point lead over Syracuse on Saturday in the Carrier Dome. Unfortunately for head coach Jay Wright and his team, they would make only five more the remaining 32 minutes of play as No. 2 Syracuse (12-0) rallied back to a resounding 78-62 win over long-time Big East rival and previously unbeaten No. 8 Villanova (11-1).
Trevor Cooney lead a quartet of Orange players who scored in double figures with a team high 21 points (5-8 on threes, 6-6 on free throws) along with three steals, three rebounds and two assists. Tyler Ennis scored 20 points (8-11 on free throws), C.J. Fair had 17 points (5-6 on free throws, six rebounds) and Jerami Grant contributed 11 points (7-8 on free throws, six rebounds) for a Syracuse team that combined to shoot a glowing 82. percent (29-35) on its free throws; a noteworthy day for a team that's historically struggled from the charity stripe.
“You gotta come out ready to play,” Cooney said. “You can't come out flat like that but we were lucky enough to get big stops and get back into the game.”
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim credited the Wildcats for being a great team but did take a couple not-so-subtle shots at what he seemed to think was more luck than skill.
“They got off to a great start, part of it was they made four really hard threes,” Boeheim said. “They really didn’t get a lot to look at the last ten minutes of the first half, they shoulda had 31 at the break, which is six points in the last ten minutes. It's one thing to bank it but, when you bank a one-hander off an out of bounds, that's really to believe.”
To which Wright jokingly fired back that Boeheim is just a “jerk” for complaining about a couple lucky shots in the wake of a 16 point victory.
The final score doesn’t truly reflect the intensity and level of competition that was on display for a game that felt more like a Big East conference battle than a non-conference game in December. After Villanova's hot start Syracuse took the lead with 4:52 left in the first half on an Ennis layup to complete a 15-0 run of its own. The teams then traded baskets but, the Orange wouldn't trail again.
The Wildcats cut the lead to three (56-53) after James Bell (25 points, five rebounds) hit his fifth three pointer of the afternoon and Daniel Ochefu (three points, five rebounds) sank one of two free throws with 7:02 remaining. It was the closest Villanova would get as Syracuse finished on a 22-9 run (with the benefit of late game fouls/free throws) ending what was a dramatic game in somewhat anti-climactic fashion.
Fair admitted the thought of getting blown out at home crossed their minds but, a couple of easy baskets and defensive stops got the team going.
“I think were coming around,” Fair said. “We're not where we want to be but we've won some tough games, we've shown were a fighting team.”
Syracuse will look to close out the non-conference portion of their schedule on the 31st at 3pm when it welcomes former SU assistant Rob Murphy and his Eastern Michigan team to the Dome.
Game Notes:
- Syracuse leads all-time series 39-32
- Syracuse is now one of eight unbeaten Division I teams left
- The announced attendance of 28,135 was the largest on campus crowd this year
- Syracuse dominated points in the paint 27-10
- Sibling rivalry was on display as Tyler Ennis's brother Dylan
plays for the Wildcats
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