Syracuse’s (8-6, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) first two conference games were outliers. They posted a season-low and then-high in points against Virginia (34) and at Georgia Tech (97). Saturday’s ACC restart, the first game of the decade for SU, offered a chance at boosting a resume desperate for wins. But Notre Dame (9-4, 0-3 ACC) needed a jolt to its NCAA Tournament hopes, too. After a high-octane, back-and-forth contest, Notre Dame prevailed, 88-87, in the Carrier Dome.

Here are takeaways from Saturday’s contest.

Close margins

Before Saturday, every Syracuse game had been decided by 10-plus points, win or lose. With five minutes left, as Joe Girard III sunk his second 3 of the game to give SU a slim 73-70 lead, the 19,021 in attendance erupted. They were already on their feet. They had been for most of the second half.

The next possession, Girard connected from the same spot and the crowd jumped up and down with him. A failed Notre Dame alley-oop pass skidded out of bounds, and the crowd’s cheers grew louder. When T.J. Gibbs responded with a 3, as he had for most of the game to keep it close, Girard dribbled to the top of the arc, rose and cashed another. The Dome’s roar was deafening, with some fans turning to one another and shaking their heads. Girard scored 10 in-a-row, dating back to a pair of technical free throws.

But after Notre Dame senior John Mooney registered a put-back layup to give Notre Dame a two-point advantage and Hughes missed a finger-roll to tie things up, the Orange’s hopes sunk. A late Girard 3 didn’t matter, despite the Orange bench and crowd clamoring for a foul.

3s, 3s and more 3s

The first few minutes of the game featured Notre Dame at its best. Syracuse didn’t have an answer. T.J. Gibbs connected on three of the Irish’s first four attempts, all makes coming from behind the arc.

Gibbs caught a no-look, inbounds pass and swished it as Buddy Boeheim crashed into him for a four-point play. Then, after a Marek Dolezaj turnover, Gibbs received a hand-off from a blue jersey and connected on another. Orange head coach Jim Boeheim called a timeout to chide Dolezaj, and Elijah Hughes clapped his hands repeatedly.

After that, Gibbs didn’t cool but was moreso denied the ball. SU’s guards pressed higher in the 2-3 zone and Notre Dame turned inside. Once there, however, white jerseys trapped and pressed the ball. Leading-scorer John Mooney found a few open shooters while doubled, but the passes weren’t crisp enough and shots clanged off iron.

The second half saw each side continue to shoot from deep. Four-straight possessions ended in open 3s from each side. Buddy finding space atop the arc and Gibbs heaving tries from the wing. The game’s momentum swung repeatedly on multiple 3s with Hughes and Buddy answering Gibbs.

An Irish defense that has limited opponents to 42.3% from 2-point range allowed 15 3s. And the Orange that allow just under seven 3s a game (6.7) conceded that many in the first half, and UND finished with 15, too.

Elijah, Elijah, Elijah

With 8:45 left in the first half, Dolezaj’s seven attempts led Syracuse. Meanwhile, Hughes, the second-leading scorer in the ACC was blanked. During the under-12 timeout, after Hughes called for a bad pass that led to a turnover, Boeheim extended both hands out toward his best player and took a breath.

After a massive, crowd-popping block from Quincy Guerrier, Hughes cashed a 3 that sparked a 10-3 Hughes run. SU responded with complimentary basketball, stringing together stops and giving Hughes more opportunities. He pump-faked a defender away for one 3 then drove past his man and finished through another for a lay-in.

Notre Dame dropped into a man-to-man defense, trying to deny Hughes free catches along the perimeter. But back-screens and dribble-drive handoffs got the ball to the best player on the court anyway. Notre Dame didn’t have a defender to stop Hughes on their own. With just over eight minutes left in the game, Hughes pulled down a rebound over Mooney and trailed across half-court to hit a deep 3 to tie the game at 64 a piece.

Published on January 4, 2020 at 6:27 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez