SOUTH BEND, Ind. – No. 15 Notre Dame (17-3, 6-1 Atlantic Coast) showed why it’s one of the best offensive teams in the country, downing Syracuse (11-9, 3-4), 84-66, at the Purcell Pavilion on Saturday afternoon. The Orange didn’t stand a chance, failing to cut its deficit to single digits in the final 17:44. Tyler Lydon carried the Orange with a team-high 24 points, but once again, it wasn’t nearly enough.

Here are the superlatives from Syracuse’s fourth conference loss.

Stud – V.J. Beachem

The Notre Dame senior scored a career and game-high 30 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field and 6-of-10 from behind the arc. He exposed the Syracuse zone for what it is: porous. The Orange was unable to guard versatile forwards, like the 6-foot-8 Beachem, who is capable of hurting a defense from anywhere on the court. The senior also chipped in seven rebounds while becoming the fourth 30-point scorer against Syracuse this season.

Dud – Syracuse’s point guards, again

The Orange’s floor generals just can’t figure it out, and a trip to Purcell Pavilion did little to ease the struggles of John Gillon and Frank Howard. The pair combined for four points on 2-of-6 shooting, and Gillon looked visibly frustrated – more so than usual – while on the bench after being subbed out early in the second half. Howard played a vast majority of the point guard minutes (30, compared to Gillon’s 10) Saturday after Gillon had been playing more recently, but Syracuse still got nothing of substance from either.

Highlight – Matt Farrell behind-the-back assist

Notre Dame’s point guard carved up the zone however he pleased for most of the afternoon, including a SportsCenter Top 10-worthy dime in the first half. He split the top of the 2-3 zone before finding a cutting Bonzie Colson along the baseline with a nifty behind-the-back feed. Colson finished the wide-open two-handed slam for a pair of Notre Dame’s 41 first half points.

Lowlight – Frank Howard’s unforced turnover

Toward the end of the first half, Howard drove the lane and dribbled the ball off his leg. A jump ball was called after Howard earned a tie-up, but possession went to the Fighting Irish and assistant coach Gerry McNamara threw his hands over his face on the bench. The sequence pretty much encapsulates what the Orange has, or more appropriately hasn’t, been able to do from the point guard position this season.

Big moment – Notre Dame’s 9-0 run after Syracuse cuts deficit to seven

Just like its visit to North Carolina on Monday, the Orange cut its hole to a reasonable margin to begin the second half. This time, SU drew within seven after scoring the first basket of the second half. But unlike its game against the Tar Heels, SU couldn’t puncture the Fighting Irish’s defense any more than that. ND swiftly responded with a 9-0 run, capped off by an Austin Torres layup, and Syracuse never trailed by single digits again.

Published on January 21, 2017 at 2:03 pm