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Every dribble was met with resistance. Every post-up came with a body pushing Syracuse out of position. Every shot at the rim was contested by multiple hands. 

Nothing was easy for Syracuse on Saturday afternoon in Clemson, South Carolina. The Tigers’ unrelenting defense held Syracuse to more first-half turnovers (five) than made field goals (three). Guards hounded SU’s ballhandlers, staying in front of them for all 94 feet of the court. Whenever SU could break through — a rare feat — Clemson’s long-armed forwards thwarted attempts in the paint.

Clemson entered Saturday ranked 14th in the nation in defensive efficiency by KenPom. Its defense frequently helped it stun teams such as Alabama, Virginia Tech and Purdue this year. It still caught SU by surprise. 

“I don’t think we were ready for the physicality, what they showed in the first half,” senior forward Marek Dolezaj said. “We lost the game in the first half, and I don’t think we expected they would be that physical with us.”

Syracuse’s 61 points were three more than its season-low. SU’s 19-point first half sunk SU too deep to recover. Its 30% overall field goal percentage was the lowest of the year. In a matchup between the Atlantic Coast Conference’s second-best offense and its second-best defense, the latter prevailed. 

The 78-61 loss is a setback for an Orange (10-6, 4-5) team coming off another stop-and-go week, with its previously scheduled matchup against Louisville postponed the morning of game day due to COVID-19 in the Cardinals’ program. The Clemson defeat makes Syracuse 0-4 in Quadrant 1 games, a concerning trend for the Orange’s NCAA Tournament ambitions.

Clemson (12-5, 6-5), the 277th most efficient 3-point shooting team in the nation, got a boost early from shooting guard Nick Honor, who started 3-for-4 from deep. 

“We started the game letting one guy shoot that we didn’t want to shoot, and they capitalized,” head coach Jim Boeheim told team reporter Matt Park at halftime. “Terrible effort.” 

Head coach Jim Boeheim said at halftime that SU put forth a “terrible effort” after scoring only three first-half field goals. Courtesy of Ken Ruinard | Greenville News

Clemson was everywhere defensively. Alan Griffin’s breakaway layup got pinned against the glass. Joe Girard III’s corner 3 got swatted out of bounds. Kadary Richmond got inside, but what were easy lay-ins last week against NC State turned into wild attempts over, around or through Clemson forwards. 

Syracuse entered the game leading the nation in field goal percentage at the rim (74.5%). Against Clemson’s tough defense, it missed its first six layups. The Tigers jumped out to a 27-12 lead when Honor (15 points) hit his fourth 3. 

SU missed 13 straight field goal attempts at one point in the first half. Its most reliable player, Quincy Guerrier, heaved a baseline fadeaway over Aamir Simms that was so off target it bounced off the top of the backboard. Syracuse entered halftime shooting 3-for-25 from the floor (12%). 

SU had 19 points at halftime and trailed by 20. Boeheim said his team was moving “east to west” too much. 

“First half, their defense just overwhelmed us,” Boeheim said. “And they got in front of us. We weren’t aggressive.” 

The Orange improved in the second half, shooting 15-for-35, but it wasn’t nearly enough to close the gap. Girard (team-high 19 points) played much more aggressively, turning the corner on drives instead of settling for jump shots. He still missed a one-handed floater in the lane, though, and Griffin’s tip-in attempt rolled around the iron and out.  

Clemson continued to affect nearly every attempt at the basket. Its help defenders were active, often poking the ball loose as SU drove. Tigers rotated to the paint from the weak sides to stifle predictable SU slashes. The Orange’s two leading scorers, Guerrier and Griffin, combined for 20 points on 5-for-24 shooting. 

Syracuse’s offensive output was reminiscent of its 2019-20 season-opening loss to Virginia, when it scored 34 total points in the worst outing since 1945. The 61 points are nearly 17 below SU’s season average. 

Earlier this season, Syracuse scored a season-low 58 points against the Cavaliers’ pack-line defense. Virginia allows a conference-best 59.7 points per game, three less than Clemson. The Tigers play more physically and aggressive on the perimeter, while the pack-line is predicated on help defense and closing out to shooters from the paint. 

Despite the offensive lift from Girard, Syracuse never pulled within 15 points in the second half. Boeheim implemented the full-court press, but that didn’t slow down the Tigers. SU’s struggles in the paint continued — the Orange finished 9-of-22 (40.9%) on layups. 

One play, Griffin stopped the ball on the left wing, took several dribbles and created a step-back 3, which bounced off the rim. On another, Griffin made his defender fall with a crossover, but his pullup clanked, too. Syracuse’s offense was stagnant, and Clemson’s lead ballooned to 70-45.

SU’s main issues this year have been on defense, not offense. The 70.8 points allowed per game is 13th in the conference. Against Clemson, the zone looked like it has all year, allowing shooters to find space and the high post to operate, as well as yielding a rebounding disadvantage. Clyde Trapp and Simms controlled the game. 

While SU kept pace in the second half, the first-half hole necessitated much more than that. At halftime, no SU player had more than five points. The group that’s struggled from 3 for nearly all of conference play was 1-for-6 from deep. Clemson’s physicality didn’t just give the Orange trouble, it engulfed them.

“We have to play well on offense to have a chance to win games,” Boeheim said. “We’re not going to win games with our defense. This was the worst offensive first half that I can remember us ever having. That’s just something, we have to be better on the offensive end.”

Published on February 6, 2021 at 4:18 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman