BUFFALO—It all came back to the 2-3 zone. 

 

The key reason Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim’s team had lost its last two games? A slip in its defensive prowess against Louisville and Georgetown. An explanation for its commanding 79-56 victory over No. 16 Vermont in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament? The staple of the program. 

 

‘Tonight, I thought our defense was much better,’ Boeheim said. ‘I thought that was the one thing we talked about over the last few days, to get back on the defensive end. ‘

 

Syracuse’s active zone made Buffalo a nightmare for Vermont Friday night at HSBC Arena. Syracuse held Vermont to just 23-of-66 shooting, including just 22.7 percent from 3-point range. The Catamounts struggled to find holes in the 2-3 zone, and Syracuse cleaned up on the glass, holding a 40-29 rebounding edge.

 

‘The theme is shut it down right, isn’t that the theme?’ sophomore forward Kris Joseph said.  That’s what we’ve been doing all year, we’ve been shutting it down and our defensive principles and we were pretty much consistent with it throughout the whole game.’

 

After stifling team after team en route to its 28-2 mark and a No. 1 ranking nationally, Syracuse’s last two contests left something to be desired defensively. Louisville hit 12 3’s in its 78-68 win on March 6. In the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament on March 11, Georgetown scored the most points against Syracuse all season (91) and shot the highest from the field (57.9) as well.

 

This sent Syracuse back to the drawing board. Re-stressing the basics. Getting back to the type of defense that it showcased early in the year. Junior forward Wes Johnson, who had six rebounds and two blocks, said the whole week of practice was spent emphasizing defense.

 

Syracuse forced the Catamounts away from the hoop and to settle for tough jump shots. There were no lanes to drive on in the middle, and if Vermont tried hoisting shots inside, Syracuse swatted away eight shots. The Catamounts finished just 10-of-34 from the field in the first half, and were 4-of-26 at one point.

 

‘We were able to locate the shooters,’ point guard Scoop Jardine said. ‘We did a great job trapping the corner and getting out and getting some steals. Our big guys did a great job coming back and getting blocks and able to start the fast break. I think we just did a great job communicating with each other and locating the shooters.’

 

With bad shots raining down in Buffalo, Syracuse kept the undersized Catamounts from gobbling up second-chance points. Rick Jackson and Kris Joseph both had eight rebounds, and positioned themselves within the lane and kept Vermont from grabbing loose boards. Shooting guard Andy Rautins had eight as well, snatching balls that careened out of the lane.

 

The team also did an effective job containing Vermont stud Marqus Blakely. Blakely came into the contest as the only player in the nation in addition to Ohio State’s National Player of the Year candidate Evan Turner averaging 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists per game. He finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, but never took over the game.

 

He scored nine of his points during a 5:25 stretch where Vermont capitalized on Syracuse turnovers and had several fastbreaks and dunks, including two dunks that the pro-Syracuse crowd seemed to approve with cheers. Other than that stretch, it was a quiet night for Blakely, with SU’s big men keeping him from getting to the hoop.

 

‘I think really just walling up and making him take contested shots and it’s really just trying to limit his offensive rebounds a lot,’ Johnson said. ‘I think that’s what he really thrives on, getting offensive rebounds and he was trying to muscle his way around the basket but Rick was down there and really altered his shot a lot.’

 

While stifling Vermont was an accomplishment, the task gets much harder Sunday against No. 8 Gonzaga. The Bulldogs are an offense-oriented team, and shot 50 percent against the nation’s best defensive field goal percentage team in its 67-60 win over Florida State. That was just the first time in 68 games that’s happened against the Seminoles. 

 

Even though the game is expected to be a track meet, it still all comes back to the 2-3 zone. 

‘That’s the whole motto, shut it down,’ Johnson said. ‘Really just getting back to that mindset like we did earlier in the year and taking that mindset into the games. I think going into the Zaga game, I think the defense is going to be the key to the game.’

 

mrehalt@syr.edu

Published on March 19, 2010 at 12:00 pm