The easiest and most direct route to beat Syracuse’s 2-3 zone is to go over the top of it. You can go the high post and find backdoor cutters and the Orange typically guards the 3-point line well, but nothing’s simpler than a couple of open triples.

To key an upset against SU, the opponent usually needs to approach 50 percent from beyond the arc.

Only two teams in the country have made fewer 3-point shots per game than North Carolina has this season. The Tar Heels will try to navigate the often-unsolvable puzzle that is Syracuse’s 2-3 zone at noon on Saturday, but lacks the necessary pieces.

“If you’re just trying to make outside shots then they just extend it even more,” UNC head coach Roy Williams said. “Instead of shooting from your 3-point line you’re shooting from the NBA 3-point line and then you’re shooting from somebody else’s 3-point line and then you’re shooting from half court.”

When North Carolina comes to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse for the No. 2 Orange’s (15-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast) first meeting with the Tar Heels (10-5, 0-2) as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, one of the worst shooting teams in the nation will have to find different ways to score against a defense that’s playing as well as it has all season.

In the past, and especially during SU’s Final Four run a year ago, perpetual defensive brilliance was a staple for the Orange and often even the star of the team. Until a 40-minute slugfest against Miami (Fla.) last Saturday, it hadn’t been the constant monstrosity that head coach Jim Boeheim has been used to. He’d criticized his team’s defensive effort at points throughout the season, but as conference play has gotten underway it looks like the zone of old.

Three days later, against Virginia Tech on Tuesday, SU held the Hokies scoreless for nearly eight minutes to pull away in a 72-52 win in Blacksburg, Va.

“They were scoring inside. Baye (Moussa Keita) came in — I think he did a better job there,” Boeheim said. “I thought we were very good on the perimeter in the second half.”

VT kept the game close in the first half by riding Adam Smith’s hot hand. The guard made three 3s in the opening frame and helped have Virginia Tech within four early in the second half.

Smith’s first half alone nearly matched UNC’s average 3-point output of 3.5 makes per game. North Carolina also shoots just 31.5 percent from beyond the arc as a team.

Syracuse ranks near the middle of the pack in 3-point defense — opponents shoot 33.1 percent against the Orange — but clamped down in the second half against the Hokies, the best 3-point shooting team in the conference.

After making 5-of-12 in the first half, VT sunk just 2-of-12 in the second.

“We wanted to extend as much as possible,” SU guard Tyler Ennis said, “keep getting stops.”

Even when Syracuse stretched its defense out to the 3-point line, the interior defense didn’t lag. Virginia Tech started the half by going inside, but the Orange turned to Keita and ended up shutting down the Hokies’ offense in the second half.

North Carolina’s strength is in the post with skilled power forwards Brice Johnson and James Michael McAdoo, but SU could also have DaJuan Coleman in a more expanded role Saturday. The Tar Heels will try to get out in transition to beat the zone before it can set up.
As much as UNC has struggled, it’s still a different look for Syracuse and the defense will have to once again hold firm against an offense that can explode at any moment.

“It’s going to be a great test for us,” SU forward C.J. Fair said. “They’re one of the scariest teams in the country.”

Published on January 11, 2014 at 1:39 am

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2