First Thoughts: Syracuse 69, Indiana 52
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Assistant Editor
Let’s take a quick look at how the Indiana Hoosiers fell 69-52 to the Syracuse Orange on Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
WHY IT HAPPENED: Trevor Cooney had 21 points and four steals while point guard Tyler Ennis dominated with 17 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and four steals to lead No. 4 Syracuse to a victory that looked all too similar to these schools’ last meeting in the Sweet 16 in March. The Hoosiers missed their first seven shots. That wasn’t even the worst drought of the night. After Noah Vonleh made a jumper at the 17:48 mark of the second half, Indiana didn’t make another field goal until 5:08 remained when Vonleh dunked. Vonleh had 17 points and six rebounds, making 13-of-16 at the foul line, but Yogi Ferrell (12 points) was the only other Hoosier to make an offensive contribution as Indiana shot 37 pecent from the field and committed 16 turnovers.
WHAT WE LEARNED: The Orange are widely regarded as the preeminent zone team in the country due to all of the long arms on their roster and coach Jim Boeheim’s ability to teach it. The Hoosiers did not play Syracuse very well, and it’s fair to wonder if the Orange are in their heads with the zone defenses and what happened last season. A zone should help an opponent in two ways. It’s easier to get shots against it, and offensive rebounding increases. After trailing 33-29 at halftime, the Hoosiers were unable to accomplish either objective. Thanks to constant miscues, they attempted just 13 shots in the second half, and Syracuse was able to dominate the defensive backboards. The Hoosiers had two offensive rebounds in the second half and one came in the final minute. Indiana knew coming in that if Ferrell were contained, it would be a long night. That’s because the inability of Troy Williams and Jeremy Hollowell to shoot leaves them vulnerable to zone defenses. Ferrell’s lanes of penetration were cut off. The Hoosiers’ shooting comes and goes. Tonight, it went. Indiana needed to shoot the ball decently to win the game. The Hoosiers also needed to force the pace of play and try to turn every possession into a fast break. Turnovers greatly hampered their ability to even hang onto the ball, much less put points on the board.
KEY NUMBER: Syracuse shot 24 for 47 (51.1 percent) from the field.
TURNING POINT: Knotted at 33 early in the second half, Syracuse unleashed a 17-1 run over a span of less than eight minutes to bury the Hoosiers. The guards, Ennis and Cooney, had 13 points in the spurt, during which Indiana turned the ball over seven times and managed to get off just one shot. It was a bad one, too, as Vonleh launched a 3, one of many poor decisions by the Hoosiers offense.
GOOD: Indiana shot 18 for 24 (75 percent) from the free throw line.
NOT-SO-GOOD: The Hoosiers went 4-for-14 from beyond the arc. As a bonus not-so-good, senior Will Sheehey had three points on 1-of-7 shooting.
NEXT: The Hoosiers have three days off to catch up on classwork and regroup. Their next game is Saturday night at home against North Florida.
Follow Chris Goff on Twitter: chrisgoff_ISL.
