Since Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim returned from suspension, the Orange have found new life. After dropping his first contest back from a nine-game hiatus in Chapel Hill, Syracuse won three straight.
In typical Boeheim fashion, the return to relevance came defensively. The hall of fame coach brought back discipline in his famed 2-3 zone. In those three victories, Syracuse (13-8, 3-5 ACC) held opponents to just 52.3 points per game.
But Sunday night, the casual observer would have had no idea.
No. 13 Virginia picked apart Boeheim’s zone, shooting 56.8 percent from the field — a season high for a Syracuse opponent. It didn’t matter if it was senior forward Anthony Gill in the post or senior guard Malcolm Brogdon from deep, early in the first half or late in the second — shot after shot, Virginia just kept on scoring.
The Cavaliers (15-4, 4-3 ACC) left John Paul Jones Arena with a 73-65 win, stringing together its first win streak in ACC play this season.
“Defensively, we struggled inside the whole game,” Boeheim said. “We really struggled in the first half.”
Syracuse’s struggles were well noted to all the 13,305 in attendance Sunday. It seemed Virginia could not miss as it jumped out to a 37-29 lead after the first 20 minutes.
Gill notched 12 of his 16 points in the opening stanza, shooting six of nine from the field with multiple crowd-raising dunks sprinkled in.
It helped the big men like Gill to have junior guard London Perrantes directing the offense. The Los Angeles native, who has a knack for hitting big shots against the Orange, made the Syracuse defense look like the ones he faced in high school.
In the first half alone, Perrantes scored nine points while dishing out five assists without a turnover. The junior finished with 16 points in 37 minutes, including seven assists.
“It’s an important key for us to be able to look for him and have that threat,” Virginia Coach Tony Bennett said. “I think he was a complete player when we recruited him. His feel is the thing that stood out — you could see that with some of the passes he made.”
The eight point first half lead did not even begin to showcase Virginia’s dominance. The Cavaliers had 20 points in the paint at the half compared to Syracuse’s 10. Virginia notched 12 assists to Syracuse’s four.
The Orange certainly didn’t falter. Senior guard Michael Gbinije scored the first 11 points for Syracuse in the second half, hitting three shots from beyond the arc.
But Virginia stayed hot, too. A jumper by sophomore forward Isaiah Wilkins stretched the Virginia lead to 45-35 with 13:55 remaining — the largest of the game.
Syracuse, however, went on a 12-2 run over the next 4:57 to even the game at 47 with 8:19 to play, forcing Virginia to take a timeout. The Cavalier offense had slowed, but more importantly in the Virginia huddle, the defense had some lapses.
“I think we still have a ways to go [defensively],” Gill said. “We’re getting there. We’re taking steps every game. It’s something we’re really working on and we’re really putting at the forefront.”
Virginia’s defense didn’t necessarily improve the rest of the way, but out of that timeout, the game turned. After trading free throws, Brogdon buried threes on two consecutive possessions, stretching the lead to 55-48.
“That’s what seniors do,” Boeheim said. “That really was the difference I thought in the game.”
The offense seemed to regain all of its first-half momentum from there on out. Sophomore guard Devon Hall split the zone for a fancy lay-in, while Perrantes nailed a corner three.
Perrantes would add another lay-up and Gill another dunk. Afterwards, free throws were all that were necessary, even with Syracuse hitting threes seemingly with every possession through the final minutes.
“We really made some nice plays down the stretch,” Bennett said. “We had to answer the plays they were making. Those guys off the dribble shooting those deep threes was really tough, and we had to answer with some of our own plays made.”
Virginia finished the game with 30 points in the paint to Syracuse’s 12. The Orange shot a mere 38.9 percent from the field in the loss.
Brogdon led Virginia with 21 points as Gill tallied eight rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Gbinije finished with 24 points for Syracuse while freshman guard Malachi Richardson added 23 in his 40 minutes. No other Orange player scored above eight.
Bennett’s main takeaway came on the defensive end. Syracuse did make 13 threes — a season high for a Cavalier opponent — but overall, Virginia’s defense — which ranked No. 38 in KenPom’s defensive rankings entering Sunday — has improved the past two games.
“I thought we took a step closer — the Clemson game and this game — to making it harder for people to get at least rhythm shots,” Bennett said. “When you turn it over or are struggling, you need your defense to just kind of keep you somewhere connected.”
Virginia will next face Wake Forest Tuesday in Winston Salem, N.C. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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