NEW YORK — Michael Carter-Williams made slick over-the-back passes and beautiful feeds. He made perfectly timed handoffs, and threaded precise passes into the open spaces in Seton Hall’s defense. Carter-Williams steadily facilitated an offense in desperate need of a jolt of confidence.

Carter-Williams tied a Big East Championship record with 14 assists in No. 19 Syracuse’s 75-63 win over Seton Hall in the second round on Wednesday. He finished with only six points on 2-of-6 shooting but that fell second in significance to his play-making ability. Carter-Williams’ keen court vision kept Syracuse’s offense flowing and created ample scoring opportunities for his teammates.

“For us to be effective, Mike has to make plays, and Brandon (Triche) and C.J. (Fair) and James (Southerland) have to score,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. “That’s what happened in this game.”

Seton Hall played a matchup zone defense, and for a Syracuse offense that’s been mostly dormant from the outside, it could’ve been a disaster. Instead the Orange found a shooting stroke that’s been absent lately, and Carter-Williams was charged with creating open looks for Syracuse’s shooters.

Carter-Williams found Southerland on the right wing just over seven minutes into the game, and Southerland swished the ball through the net for his first of his six 3-pointers in the game.

Late in the first half, Carter-Williams had two Pirates defenders on him and nowhere to go. Instead of trying to force anything, Carter-Williams whipped a pass across the top of the key to Southerland on the left wing that resulted in another 3.

“I think our offense was just flowing today,” Carter-Williams said. “We just moved great as a team. When the shot clock got low, my teammates found me and I was able to make a play for them.”

So many times this season, opposing defenses would turn Carter-Williams into a scorer instead of a distributor. The point guard often struggles to hit shots from the outside or finish at the rim after driving the lane. So teams would close out on his passing options and force him to score.

Against Georgetown on Saturday, Carter-Williams finished with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He attempted only one 3-pointer. He proved that he can finish at the rim when he needs to.

Carter-Williams continued some of that on Wednesday, like when he nailed a floater in traffic in the first half, and Seton Hall had to actively defend him and leave shooters alone on the wings when Carter-Williams drove. The difference against Seton Hall, and one reason Carter-Williams’ assist total was so high, was that his teammates simply hit the shots.

It was an ideal formula for the Orange.

“It was good for a team to see I can finish at the rim,” Carter-Williams said. “I just try to take what’s open. If they’re giving me the drive, then I’ve got to finish. If they’re helping, my teammates are going to be open.”

Fourteen seconds into the second half, Carter-Williams made a perfectly placed lob to center Rakeem Christmas for an alley-oop that sent a jolt through the crowd and gave Syracuse a 36-34 lead, its first lead of the game to that point.

With just less than five minutes left in the game, Carter-Williams showed impeccable timing once again. Triche tipped the ball away from Seton Hall forward Fuquan Edwin, sprawled out for the loose ball and quickly passed to Carter-Williams. He took the ball up the court, and then whipped a one-handed pass over his left shoulder to a breaking Baye Moussa Keita for the transition layup that made it 65-48 Syracuse.

Syracuse needed those types of plays. Carter-Williams was there to deliver them.

Triche said when his backcourt mate is able to dish off and create plays, there’s a distinct difference in Syracuse’s offense.

“Of course, it’s way better. He looks good, it makes him look better, it makes our team look better,” Triche said. “We’re obviously making our shots so he can make assists. That’s what we need to do.”

Carter-Williams said he didn’t find out until after the game that he had tied the Big East Tournament assists record. But if his teammates had told him during the game, he said he likely would’ve tried to get his 15th to break the mark.

Regardless, Carter-Williams made history in his first significant conference tournament appearance. It led to an efficient win for Syracuse and an offensive showing the Orange desperately needed.

Carter-Williams ensured the Orange’s offense had the chance to wake up from the recent malaise.

“Our team needed some leadership, some uplift,” Carter-Williams said, “so that’s what I tried to do in this game.”

Published on March 13, 2013 at 7:44 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman