Syracuse entered Wednesday’s matchup with Seton Hall fifth in the Big East in scoring defense and tops in the country in steals per game. In its 13 nonconference games, the Orange held eight opponents to under 60 points, including three of them under 50.

And even with those numbers, head coach Jim Boeheim felt SU’s defensive effort in its conference opener against the Pirates was right up there with its best from this season.

‘I thought our defense was as good tonight as it’s been all year,’ he said. ‘I mean 17 steals, the blocks — it was an incredible defensive effort. … That was the difference in the game.’

No. 1 Syracuse (14-0, 1-0 Big East) shut down Seton Hall 75-49 in the Carrier Dome to kick off conference play with a win. The Pirates shot just 19-of-60 (32 percent) from the field and turned the ball over 23 times, numbers that were both significantly worse at halftime. The Orange also blocked 15 shots — 10 by sophomore center Fab Melo — and held the Big East’s second leading scorer and rebounder in Herb Pope to just four points and nine boards.

‘We weren’t letting them get what they wanted out of their offense,’ senior Kris Joseph said. ‘And that was big for us.’

SU’s defense was dominant from the opening tip as Seton Hall didn’t make its first field goal until more than five minutes into the game. The lengthy Orange seemed to fill every passing lane with the 2-3 zone defense, and the Pirates couldn’t find any openings.

That led to a season-high tying 17 steals by the Orange, most of which came in the first 20 minutes.

‘We force them into passes we know they’re going to make,’ Joseph said. ‘When we trap a certain area, we know the next obvious pass and we have to cut it off. Knowing a trap situation, you kind of get panicky and make the first available pass. We’ve practiced it so much that we know what’s coming next.’

And that leads to easy buckets for Syracuse.

At one point in the first half, Seton Hall guard Aaron Cosby tried an entry pass to the high post, but Scoop Jardine stepped in front. The ball practically hit Jardine in the chest and the Orange guard took off the other way. He got tangled up with Cosby on the break, but as he fell, he tipped the ball back to a trailing James Southerland, who finished it off with an emphatic dunk.

‘Our guards are really aggressive and we’re long and we can really play,’ Jardine said. ‘We can get to the high post and also get out to the shooters because the shortest guy is 6-foot-2 and that’s me. That’s what allows us to get steals.’

And when the Orange guards weren’t deflecting or intercepting passes, Syracuse’s big men shut down the interior. Pope struggled all night against Melo and the other SU bigs, finishing just 2-for-9 from the field.

And all the rejections only gave Syracuse’s perimeter players more confidence to take chances and go for steals.

‘We got guys down there like Fab,’ Jardine said, ‘and when they’re changing shots and blocking shots, it makes us aggressive and able to go after steals and be aggressive because we know they’re going to block shots.’

The steals, blocks and Pirates miscues all combined for an ugly first half for Seton Hall. The Pirates had as many turnovers (15) as they did points in the first 20 minutes and shot just 5-for-27 from the field as Syracuse built a 34-15 lead.

Seton Hall had a little more success in the second, but it was far from enough to mount a comeback.

And while Boeheim felt Wednesday’s performance to be the best defensive effort by his team this year, Jardine thinks there is even more room for improvement on that end.

‘We still can be better on defense,’ the senior said. ‘That’s the thing. We really can be better. We’re going to keep pushing to try to be better. But right now, we’re playing really at a high level on both ends.’

zjbrown@syr.edu

 

Published on December 28, 2011 at 12:00 pm