For all the flak Syracuse’s defense has gotten, one bright spot has gone largely unnoticed. The Orange has silenced opponents behind the 3-point line, leading all Atlantic Coast Conference teams with a 3-point defense percentage of 25.3.

Before Saturday’s 99-77 win against Boston University (4-6), no team had made more than 11 3s against Syracuse (6-3). But in came Cedric Hankerson, the 6-foot-5 BU guard who set a Carrier Dome opponent record by hitting 10-of-20 3s, and out came more questions about SU’s defense. As head coach Jim Boeheim noted after the win, his team hasn’t been good on either side of the ball in any of its three losses. Defense isn’t the only problem.

But with a bevy of scoring options — albeit streaky ones — there’s a looming defensive question about this team: Can it get a stop when it really needs one?

It didn’t get many on Saturday; the Terriers just missed a lot of good looks. More than any other time this season, SU needed a stop against UConn after tying the game with nine seconds left. It couldn’t get one then after Tyus Battle fouled to set up the game-winning free throws with 2.2 seconds left.

“Our defense,” Boeheim said, “it’s not good … We’ve really only had those three close games, (and) we haven’t been good on either side of the ball in those three games.

“That’s not a good sign.”

Matters only complicate themselves when mixing and matching the lineup to optimize the offense, such as swapping freshman Taurean Thompson in for senior Dajuan Coleman. That was a no-brainer on Saturday, but might not have been in a closer game. Credit to Hankerson though, he made sure it didn’t matter who Syracuse was planting in its frontcourt. He shot over it, and converted more times than anyone else in Carrier Dome history.

“He made some tough shots,” Boeheim said, “but you’ve got to guard him … just give anybody else a shot. Not him. We should know better.”

***

It was a highlight reel day for Syracuse’s bench, namely Thompson and John Gillon, who combined for 55 points on 17-of-22 shooting. The backdrop for Gillon’s 23-point show wasn’t known until after the game.

His grandfather recently passed away, just before SU’s game against North Florida. Before Saturday, the fifth-year senior hadn’t scored in his last two games. Against the Terriers, Gillon finally felt more like himself again.

Thompson, conversely, was the benefactor of external circumstances. BU deployed a zone defense and the freshman cemented himself right in the middle of it. He operated with plenty of room to maneuver around the post and tallied a career-high 22 points.

Boeheim noted after the win that with Thompson’s shooting ability, he’s more suited to take advantage of zones. Coleman’s “not going to score 21 points against any defense.” Fortunately for the Orange, it didn’t need more than his nine minutes on Saturday. What we learned from Saturday.

Published on December 11, 2016 at 9:12 am

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman