Orange's 'Herculean' Effort Not Enough Against Louisville

Story by Robert Schiff

Photo by Jon Cerio 

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Despite two monstrous comebacks by Syracuse - one in regulation and the other in overtime, the Syracuse fell short against Louisville, 76-72, in front of 25,303 fans at the Carrier Dome on Monday night.

"These guys fight," Coach Jim Boeheim said of his players. "They fight as hard as you can fight. Louisville is a top ten team. Top five, maybe. That's an unbelievable accomplishment to come back like that against a team like that. It was an unbelievable effort. Herculean effort."

Ice Cold From Deep

After suffering a tough 80-75 loss on the road in Pittsburgh two days ago, The Orange returned home, looking for its third straight home victory against a top ten team.

Syracuse entered Monday night's matchup with the Cardinals in second place in the ACC in three-point percentage (40 percent). That number took a hit against Louisville, as the Cardinals' defense suffocated and frustrated the Orange, forcing bad possessions and highly contested shots. The Orange finished 8-for-34 from behind the arc (24 percent), it's worst percentage since the end of December, when Syracuse shot 16 percent in an embarrassing loss to St. John's.

"Outside of the end, we did a great job of focusing on Andrew White, because I think he's the best shooter in college basketball," Louisville head coach Rick Pitino said. "Even his misses on film go in and out."

Playing Catch Up

The Orange (16-11, 8-6 ACC) stumbled out of the gate, missing its first six shots from the field, and being held scoreless until White III's three got Syracuse on the board with 15:33 remaining. Junior guard Quentin Snider was red hot early, drilling his third three of the game with 11:47 left in the first half, extending Louisville's lead to six. Snider scored 11 of his team's first 15 points, but finished with just 14 on the night.

With Syracuse trailing 18-14, Louisville began to pull away. The Cardinals went on a 10-0 run, with Anas Mahmoud accounting for six of them. The junior forward finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.

Down to the Wire

After going almost four minutes without a bucket to start the game, the Orange went cold again from the field, going more than four minutes again without a point. John Gillon's three with 5:37 to go in the half not only ended the scoreless streak, but launched an impressive comeback by Syracuse. Over the final 5:54 of the first half, the Orange outscored Louisville 11-1, capped off by a jumper from Tyler Lydon, cutting Louisville's lead to four at the break.

With the Orange down seven at the 17-minute mark in the second half, Syracuse clawed back with an 8-0 run over the next three minutes, as Taurean Thompson's layup with 13:52 left gave the Orange its first lead of the evening. Thompson's 11 points all came in the second half. Lydon (14 points) put Syracuse up by two after drilling a three-pointer with 9:01 to go. Louisville's Donovan Mitchell answered right back with three of his team-high 16 points.

In what has been an up and down year for sophomore guard Frank Howard, Monday's performance was a positive one. Howard's free throw with 6:33 gave the Orange a two point lead. That was Syracuse's last point for more than four minutes.

Louisville proceeded to go on a 9-0 run, culminating with a three from Mitchell, giving the Cardinals a 55-48 lead. Again, it was Gillon to end the scoreless streak, draining a three with 2:01 to go, cutting Louisville's lead to four. The graduate transfer from Colorado State wasn't done there. After a Jaylen Johnson tip slam gave Louisville a three point lead, Gillon came back the other way, and hit a high-arching rainbow three, tying the game at 58.

Deng Andel then missed both free throws, giving Syracuse a chance to win it in regulation. Gillon drove to the basket but lost the ball off of his leg. Snider's desperation heave from half court sailed out of bounds as the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of regulation.

Surprising Star in OT

With Donovan Mitchell fouled out, Rick Pitino called on freshman guard Ryan McMahon to give Louisville some quality minutes. McMahon did not play at all in regulation, but the freshest man on the floor in overtime came up big when it mattered most. After Andrew White completed the three-point play to start the extra frame, McMahon nailed a three of his own, tying the game at 61. He tied the game again at 63 a piece, after grabbing an offensive rebound, and laying it in with 3:37 left. Mahmoud's free throw with 45 seconds left capped off a 10-0 run by the Cardinals, giving Louisville an 8 point lead. Syracuse had not scored since White's free throw at the 3:58 mark.

Andrew White's three with 36 seconds left cut the deficit to five. After Adel knocked down two free throws, Frank Howard connected from deep, trimming Louisville's lead to four with 25 seconds remaining. Adel went back to the stripe, but only made one out of two. With the Orange down five, White got fouled on a three-point attempt. The graduate transfer calmly drained all three free throws, cutting Louisville's lead to two. Jaylen Johnson then missed both of his free throws, giving the Orange one last chance. White launched a three that came up short, but Tyler Roberson grabbed the rebound, and got fouled on the way up. The senior then missed both free throws. Overtime hero McMahon then knocked down both of his, sealing the win for Louisville, and finally shutting the door on the Orange's valiant comeback.


Off Night for White

Syracuse's leading scorer did just that on Monday night. Andrew White led the Orange with 22  points, but only went 7-for-24 from the field, and a dreadful 2-for-14 from behind the arc.


Final Four

After an incredible, yet unexpected run to the Final Four last year, the Orange finds itself in a familiar situation. After two remarkable wins at home against top ten opponents, and a hard-fought victory against Clemson, Syracuse has now dropped two in a row. Despite the two quality wins against Florida State and Virginia, eight wins in the ACC is not going to get it done.

With just four games remaining - two against Georgia Tech, one against Duke, and a trip to Louisville, the Orange have almost zero room for error. Because of an abysmal non-conference performance, Syracuse will most likely have to win at least two of the next four games for a shot at the NCAA tournament.

The Orange will have to wait almost a week to get back on the floor, as Syracuse travels to Atlanta for a Sunday evening matchup with another bubble team in Georgia Tech (15-10, 6-6 ACC). The Yellow Jackets have a few quality wins of their own, with victories over UNC, Florida State and Notre Dame, all at home.

"We'll see," White said after being asked if the Orange was a tournament team. "We got four games to prove that. Backs up against the wall. We're going to have good a chance to prove ourselves these next four games."

Louisville (21-5, 9-4 ACC) will head back home to take on Virginia Tech this Saturday at 1 p.m. The Hokies are coming off an impressive win at home against 12th ranked Virginia.