CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Eric Devendorf didn’t have much trouble putting Syracuse’s defensive effort into perspective Wednesday night.

‘We’d be undefeated if we played like this,’ Devendorf said after Syracuse’s 70-68 road win over Virginia.

Just a little more than a week ago, Syracuse allowed 107 points in a home loss to Massachusetts, and Donte Greene said head coach Jim Boeheim told the players that they played ‘the worst defense he’s ever seen a Syracuse team play.’

What a difference a week makes.

Now the Orange has turned in two consecutive solid defensive performances against Tulane and UVa. All of a sudden, the area of SU’s play that had caused Boeheim concern since the start of practices in October was giving SU a reason to be optimistic.

Saturday night will provide more clues as to whether the defensive turnaround is aberration or actuality when Syracuse (6-2) hosts a tricky Rhode Island (9-1) – currently ranked No. 23 in the RPI – at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.

‘Our intensity on the defensive end has definitely picked up, and if we keep doing this, I think we can win a lot of basketball games,’ Devendorf said.

Before Tulane, Syracuse had been allowing an average of 82 points per game, switching between man-to-man and zone defenses without either working. It responded by allowing a season-low 60 points to the Green Wave.

But that was a Tulane team with little offensive firepower and no dynamic scoring threat. Wednesday night was a road game against a Virginia team that came in averaging 83.3 points per game, led by senior guard Sean Singletary, averaging 20.4 points per game coming in.

Syracuse found its rhythm, staying in the 2-3 zone for the entire game and holding the Cavaliers to just 40.6 percent shooting from the floor and 11-for-32 from 3-point range. Singletary especially struggled, scoring just 10 points on 3-for-14 from the field.

So you’ll forgive the Syracuse players for their rampant optimism after what was undoubtedly their best defensive performance of the season.

‘I think we’ve made a complete 180-degree turn,’ freshman Jonny Flynn said. ‘Our intensity is up all the time.’

A big reason for SU’s success against UVa was its ability to extend its zone to contest 3-point shooters. With the Cavaliers seemingly content to throw up 3’s – Singletary especially tossed up multiple efforts from well-beyond NBA 3-point range – Syracuse was able to cheat out and defend the 3-point shots better than it had against UMass (14-for-31 from beyond the arc).

‘They weren’t going to the high post at all, so we knew we could just get out on the shooters,’ sophomore forward Paul Harris said. ‘All of them, even the five man, was shooting 3’s.’

Through the season’s first seven games, it was a high-powered offense that carried the Orange and the defense was a work in progress.

On Wednesday, Boeheim was singing a completely different tune.

‘Our defense wasn’t the problem; it was our offense,’ Boeheim said. ‘We just couldn’t do anything on the offensive end.’

Of course, two games don’t mean Syracuse has completely turned the corner. It will once again be tested Saturday against a Rhode Island squad averaging 80.4 points a game and coming off a 17-point home win over Providence.

The Rams will represent a different type of challenge for Syracuse. While Virginia, which came into Wednesday’s game shooting 43.8 percent from beyond, preferred to attempt 3-pointers, Rhode Island is shooting just 35.8 percent from beyond and scores just 21.8 percent of its field goals in the form of 3-pointers.

Regardless, Syracuse will head into the game with some real defensive confidence for perhaps the first time all season.

‘It’s showing,’ Harris said of the practice time spent on the defense. ‘We all know we can’t win unless we play D. We’ve got all the offense in the world, but if other teams are scoring and we’re just going back and forth, it comes down to who’s playing defense.’

Published on December 7, 2007 at 12:00 pm