Editor’s Note: The Daily Orange decided not to drive to Charlottesville, Virginia for Sunday night’s game between Syracuse and Virginia due to safety concerns stemming from the snowstorm.

Syracuse (13-8, 3-5 Atlantic Coast) lost to No. 13 Virginia, 73-65 (15-4, 4-3), to snap a three-game winning streak. The Orange made 13 3-pointers, but struggled defensively on both the interior and perimeter against the Cavaliers, who were led by Malcolm Brogdon, who had 21 points. Michael Gbinije and Malachi Richardson combined to hit 11 3-pointers and score 47 points, but the rest of the team scored just 18 points. Syracuse scored just two points in the paint in the second half and 12 overall.

Jim Boeheim spoke to the media after the game, and here are three things that he said.

Interior defense was, and has been, nonexistent

Syracuse was outscored 30-12 on points in the paint and Virginia big man Anthony Gill was 7-of-11 from the field on the night.

“We’ve struggled all year in there,” Boeheim said. “We’re giving centers All-American years. We cannot play defense inside. I think that’s pretty painfully obvious right now. Guys that average five points a game, average 18, 19, 20 against us.

“Our perimeter defense has been pretty good all year. Our inside defense is just not existent.”

Boeheim also added that the poor interior defense forced the guards to help inside, which allowed the Cavaliers to shoot 8-of-18 from behind the arc.

 

 

Malcolm Brogdon and London Perrantes’ 3-pointers were the dagger

The senior, Brogdon, hit two 3-pointers in the span of 31 seconds to take a one-point lead up to seven with 5:17 to play. Perrantes hit another 3 from the corner with 2:42 left to double a 3-point lead. Syracuse never got closer than three points again.

“We had a couple opportunities there, but Brogdon stepped up, he had two big 3s,” Boeheim said. “That’s what seniors do. That really was, I thought, the difference in the game. I thought we played much better defense in the second half. I think we forced about nine or 10 turnovers in the second half with our defense. I thought the difference was Brogdon made the two 3s and Perrantes made the 3 in the corner. Those are big shots.”

Syracuse needed to shoot well, and did

Gbinije and Richardson continually kept Syracuse in the game with their long-range shooting. Gbinije had the first 11 points of the second half, hitting a couple 3-pointers from well beyond the arc. As the game ticked under a minute, the two hit back-to-back 3s in a matter of seconds to trim a nine-point lead down to three with 29 seconds to play. Still, the Cavaliers were able to hold on to the win.

“Well you have to shoot the ball,” Boeheim said. “Virginia doesn’t give you much inside. You’ve got to move the ball. I thought we moved the ball. We made them change, switch or help. We got some open looks. You have to make some of those shots.”

Published on January 24, 2016 at 11:00 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3