Syracuse, N.Y. – Syracuse faced some sturdy defenses this season.
Virginia’s famed pack-line defense and Clemson’s bruising man-to-man ranked among the country’s top 12 for points allowed. The San Diego State Aztecs were top 15 in field goal percentage defense. Georgia Tech was among the top 10 in steals.
But none were as tough as Houston.
The Cougars hounded and harassed Syracuse from tip to buzzer on Saturday night, holding the Orange to season-lows in points and field-goal shooting.
In a 62-46 loss to Houston in the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16, Syracuse scored fewer points than it ever had before in the NCAA tournament.
“Their defense was really terrific,’' Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “It’s the best defense that we’ve seen this year.’'
Houston held Syracuse to 28% shooting (14-for-50) from the field. Not only was the field goal percentage a season-low, but so were the 14 made shots. The Orange’s five assists? Another low for the season.
Houston came into the game ranked first in the country in field-goal percentage defense and second in points allowed.
Any thoughts that Houston may have run up some gaudy defensive numbers against inferior competition in the American Athletic Conference evaporated quickly. Syracuse scored just five points in the game’s first nine minutes.
“I thought that Houston was tremendous defensively,’' Boeheim said. “Their defense was just too much for us.’'
Buddy Boeheim was the Cougars’ primary focus.
Houston put ace defender DeJon Jarreau, a 6-foot-5 senior who was named the AAC’s Defensive Player of the Year, on Boeheim.
Jarreau held Boeheim, who had averaged 27.5 points in SU’s NCAA tournament wins over San Diego State and West Virginia, to just 12 points on 3-for-13 shooting from the field.
But the Syracuse coaches knew that Houston was going to do anything and everything to keep the red-hot Buddy Buckets from beating them.
If Syracuse was going to beat Houston, it had to find other ways to score and hope that would free up Boeheim.
Syracuse’s scouting report forecast that Houston would play up on Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard, taking away the 3-pointer and forcing them to drive. Boeheim and Girard, who finished with 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting, couldn’t get past their Cougar counterparts.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim hoped that Houston’s attention to Boeheim and Girard would open up driving lanes for Quincy Guerrier and Marek Dolezaj.
In what was likely his last game at Syracuse, Dolezaj struggled against Houston’s physical nature. He scored two points, making just one of his six shots.
“Marek just had a tough game,’' Boeheim said. “He missed a couple layups that he normally makes.’'
Guerrier managed just eight points on 3-for-9 shooting. Whenever he got near the basket, he seemed to get swallowed by a host of Cougars.
“Quincy had a couple of really good opportunities around the basket that he normally will finish,’' Boeheim said. “We knew that they were going to push up on Buddy and Joe. And they’re tremendous defensive guards there. But I thought Marek and Quincy would maybe be able to get something inside.’'
Syracuse’s other options were more of the hope-for-the-best type of plans.
Alan Griffin, SU’s leading scorer during the regular season, was in a late-season slump. In the three games prior to Saturday, Griffin scored a total of six points on 1-for-10 shooting. This from a guy who had averaged 15.6 points in ACC games.
The 6-foot-5 junior scored just two points against Houston. He forced up a 3-pointer early in the game and got yanked immediately. He wound up missing on all three of his field-goal attempts. Griffin played just 13 minutes, which Boeheim said was because of defensive lapses.
“I thought Alan could play against this team, but he gave up the two 3s to (Marcus) Sasser right in front of him,’' Boeheim said. “And the last 6-7 games he just has not been able to defend to stay on the court. I think it was a game he might have been able to get something off this team, off the bounce, but he just has struggled at the end of the year.’'
With Griffin struggling, Robert Braswell had seen more playing time late in the season. The 6-7 forward had averaged 9.2 points in the four games spanning the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
Against Houston, though, Braswell didn’t score. He took three shots and missed them all.
“They were just too physical for him,’' Boeheim said.
Jesse Edwards, the sophomore center, and freshman guard Kadary Richmond -- two fan favorites -- played well in their roles but they weren’t going to supply enough offense to help the Orange on this night.
“I thought Jesse did a great job,’' Boeheim said. “I thought Kadary had a good start. He made a couple of careless mistakes, but I thought he did some really positive things tonight.’'
While Houston’s defense held Syracuse to some historically low offensive numbers, the Cougars made sure the Orange had plenty of company this season.
Houston held 20 teams to 60 or fewer points this season, and five teams failed to break 50 against the Cougars.
For Syracuse, however, the 46 on the scoreboard at the end of this one marked the Orange’s lowest offensive output since a 48-34 loss to Virginia at the start of the 2019-20 season.
“We missed some opportunities, but I just give 90 percent of the credit to their defense,’' Boeheim said. “They’re really a good defensive team.’'
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