Syracuse’s defense in loss to Miami: Where was the disconnect, the intensity?
Syracuse, N.Y. – What happened to Syracuse’s defense?
The Orange surrendered 85 points to Miami Saturday in a loss in the JMA Wireless Dome.
The Hurricanes shot 64.3% overall and 57.1% from the 3-point line in the second half in their 85-76 win over SU. They shot 61.1% for the game and 53.8% from 3.
Those are staggering success rates for a Miami offense that averaged 61 points in its last two outings, ACC losses to Clemson and Florida State.
“You can’t give up 85. I mean it’s horrible,” SU center William Kyle said. “You can’t give up 85 at home, you know what I mean? It’s just a pride thing.”
“We need to get our edge back,” Adrian Autry said.
Syracuse was once a much-improved defensive unit.
The Orange, way back in November, limited the trio of Houston, Kansas and Tennessee to an average of 70 points. And that was with an overtime period in the Houston game.
Iowa State, another of the then-ranked teams on SU’s schedule, put on an offensive clinic in the second half against the Orange and scored 95, which at the time seemed like an anomaly.
Syracuse, Autry and his players have told us, spent all summer and most of the fall focusing primarily on defense, the Orange men’s fatal flaw a year ago.
Before Saturday’s game, SU ranked 10th in the ACC in points allowed.
Miami exceeded every other ACC opponent’s average against SU by 10 points.
“I don’t have a clear answer for that,” Kyle said. “I don’t know if we got comfortable or maybe some of it is just our attention to detail. I feel like at times we’re not following our game plan that our coaches have told us multiple times.”
There seems to be a disconnect these past couple weeks between what Autry says he is telling players and how those players are processing and/or executing that information.
None of the players can explain it.
“I have to find a way,” Autry said, “to get these guys to understand how important those things are.”
After Syracuse lost its second straight game, a 76-72 loss to Virginia Tech, Orange players talked about the urgency of the season and how locked in they needed to be for every game going forward.
That tenacity was lacking on defense Saturday.
Miami destroyed SU’s man defense in the early minutes of Saturday’s game. The Hurricanes were 7-for-10 to start the game, outscored the Orange 12-2 in the paint and owned a 20-10 advantage before Autry switched to zone.
The effects were immediate. Miami was flustered. The ‘Canes turned it over. And after Akir Souare stole the ball and fed Donnie Freeman, who found Kiyan Anthony for a transition layup, the game was tied at 27.
But by halftime, Miami coach Jai Lucas and his team figured out the best way to attack the zone. The Hurricanes, Lucas said, had faced other zones, most recently against FSU.
Miami players found gaps in the defense, pounded the ball into the soft middle, kept pouring on the points and grabbed rebounds when they missed.
To add salt to the wound, they also made 3-point shots.
SU’s defensive intensity had all but disappeared.
“Honestly, I feel like we’re losing that for sure,” Freeman said. “And that’s our identity, despite what anybody else on earth may think. We get after people, we defend, we make people uncomfortable, we’re disruptive. And we’ve lost that.”
