With two minutes left in the game, the Syracuse crowd started waving goodbye to the Villanova men’s basketball team. It was an indication of the momentum. Syracuse had just reeled off nine straight points to build an eight-point lead, and all signs pointed to Syracuse cruising to victory.

Turns out the fans got a bit ahead of themselves.

Villanova kept things interesting until the end, closing the gap to as close as three with less than a minute left. But SU fended off Villanova, 64-59, before an alleviated crowd of 22,976.

‘We got a little nervous,’ SU guard Josh Pace said. ‘But you just have to pull it out. It was a big win for us, on Big Monday, a nationally televised game.’

While Syracuse reveled in the setting, Villanova faltered. The game was just another failed comeback for VU. The Wildcats, down eight with just 2:29 left, climbed back to within three, 62-59, with 36.7 seconds left. But two late McNamara free throws sealed the game for Syracuse.

In Villanova’s previous game, the Wildcats stormed back from a 15-point deficit, but fell short to Seton Hall, 70-68.

The problem with VU? The same as with Syracuse – offense.

The Wildcats wanted to shoot SU out of its zone, using as many as four perimeter players to spread the Orangemen out.

But the Orangemen closely guarded the shooters, something SU struggled with earlier in the year.

Villanova tried shooting the 3 almost all game. Minus a barrage of treys to start each half – Villanova hit its first two 3s of each half – Villanova hit just four 3s the rest of the game on 19 shots.

‘We played some of our best zone defense of the year,’ guard Gerry McNamara said. ‘This is one of the best shooting teams we’re going to face all year, except maybe a Connecticut, and we did a good job getting out on them.’

Villanova’s plan to spread SU out still didn’t open the inside. Villanova scored 22 points in the paint compared to SU’s 30. But Syracuse’s 2-3 zone intercepted passes intended for the interior.

Villanova committed 22 turnovers, the most SU, which committed 17 turnovers itself, has forced all season.

After the game, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim deplored reporters for focusing on the carelessness of the game, instead calling last night’s performance one of the best defensive efforts of the season.

‘Let’s give credit to our defense,’ Boeheim said. ‘It was the key to winning the game. I mean, they’re trying to get it over our zone; it causes steals, deflections, things like that. We did a great job making sure they didn’t get any easy 3s. It was a tremendous defensive game from us tonight.’

With two straight wins, Syracuse appears to have avoided the NCAA Tournament bubble, despite Boeheim’s rant in the post-game press conference about how the media have overreacted.

‘Everyone says if you go to Georgetown and you lose, it’s the end of the world,’ Boeheim said of SU’s 57-54 nail-biting win Saturday. ‘But college basketball is very tough. Wake Forest loses four straight and they’re out of the tournament? Wake Forest is one of the five best teams in the country, and they’re out of the tournament? You’re going to lose some games in college basketball.’

As SU’s schedule toughens and its offensive problems persist – besides guard Josh Pace’s 7-for-11 night, no other Orangeman shot more than 50 percent – Syracuse may not be able to rely on its defense in the future. Boeheim himself has called SU a primarily offensive team that must score to win.

With two of SU’s next three games against top 10 teams – at No. 3 Pittsburgh on Sunday and vs. No. 8 Connecticut on March 7 – the questions that continue to surround the Orangemen will be addressed against tougher competition.

‘We’ve got two top teams to play,’ Boeheim said. ‘I think they’re among the top four or five teams in the country. We’ve got a tough schedule. Looking forward, it will be a great challenge.’

Published on February 23, 2004 at 12:00 pm