RALEIGH, N.C. – Jim Boeheim worried about Maverick Rowan all week. Dennis Smith Jr. was guaranteed to inflict damage — the freshman point guard did just that with a triple-double — but Rowan was going to be the X-factor as a sharpshooter with the potential to stretch the zone beyond it’s limits.

Even with Boeheim’s added concern, Rowan carved up Syracuse to the tune of a career-high 31 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the field. The sophomore did all he could to match John Gillon’s offensive fireworks, but in the end his eight 3-pointers just weren’t enough.

“We knew he was the best shooter on that team,” SU freshman Tyus Battle said. “He just got open, made some tough shots anyway.”

Despite SU’s (14-9, 6-4 Atlantic Coast) 100-93 overtime win over North Carolina State on Wednesday night, the Orange surrendered 14 3-pointers and allowed the Wolfpack to shoot 43.8 percent from deep. Up next on Saturday in the Carrier Dome is No. 9 Virginia (17-4, 7-2), and the Cavaliers rank second in the league in 3-point percentage at a 39.6-percent clip. If Syracuse has any chance at stretching it’s winning streak to four games it’ll need to stop Tony Bennett’s team from behind the arc, especially since it’s highly unlikely that UVA’s staunch defense will allow as many points as N.C. State’s did.

“The zone, you want to defend the 3 as well as you can,” fifth-year senior Andrew White said, “but when you got a guy that can light it up, usually it’s tough.”

Virginia has that guy capable of lighting it up in London Perrantes. Syracuse fans will recall the poofy-haired point guard burying five first-half 3-pointers in the Elite Eight last year that gave Virginia it’s big first-half lead. He’s one of four Cavaliers that shoot better than 40 percent from deep.

Perrantes hits 41.4 percent of his triple attempts and half of his points come from behind the 3-point line. Devon Hall shoots 40 percent from deep in 26 minutes per game. Kyle Guy is hitting at a near 47-percent rate in almost 18 minutes per contest and Isaiah Wilkins leads the bunch with a 57.1-percent clip from long range in over 27 minutes per game. While UVA has the third-fewest number of 3-point field goals made in the ACC, it’s also taken the second fewest.

Syracuse likely won’t see a hefty load of shots go up from deep like it did against North Carolina State, but UVA brings just as many, if not more weapons from deep that threaten to make the euphoria of Syracuse’s overtime victory short-lived.

“Our defense has struggled all year on the road,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “We wanted to get near Rowan. We didn’t get near him the whole night.”

After Syracuse furiously stormed back from 16 down to tie the game in the final minute, Rowan sunk a contested 3 from the right wing with 10 seconds left to put N.C. State up three. Then again in overtime, with SU stepping on the Wolfpack’s throats up seven, Rowan converted a four-point play to give his team one last breath.

The likelihood is Gillon doesn’t go off for 43 points again on Saturday. The other likelihood is that Virginia, which allows the fewest points per game in the ACC at 53.4 and nearly nine full points better than second-place Louisville, doesn’t give the Orange nearly as many chances to get back in the game if it falls behind.

Of course, SU completed one of the best comebacks in program history last time it played Virginia to become the first No. 10 seed to reach the Final Four. But Boeheim’s team only has so many miraculous comebacks in it, one would think, and the starting point to pulling off its second upset of a Top 10 team within a week is shutting off the 3-point line.

Published on February 2, 2017 at 11:57 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman