Cornell’s Chris Wroblewski weaved methodically between the perimeter layer of Syracuse’s zone defense. If there was an open spot anywhere, he’d find it and drill one of his five first half 3-pointers, while guards Brandon Triche and Andy Rautins scrambled to contest each and every try.

All of a sudden, the Orange’s most potent weapon — the defense that shuts down opponents and fuels its fast-break offense — had met its Achilles’ heel. A team that can consistently strike from beyond-the-arc is the quickest way to diffuse even the most effective of zone defenses.

‘We felt like the first half our defense was kind of lackadaisical,’ forward Kris Joseph said. We weren’t mentally there. We knew what it took to win this game, and that was play defense.’

But the second half was a different story. A zone that was confused and consolidated in the first half shut down the Big Red in the second. With more assertive coverage, SU was able to slice Cornell’s 3-point percentage in half, propelling it to a 88-73 victory.

‘I think our guys did a tremendous job, particularly the start of the second half adjusting defensively,’ Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘We got to their shooters the first eight or 10 minutes.’

At the outset of the second half, the small spaces Wroblewski grew comfortable in during the first were non-existent. Andy Rautins, Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine draped the Cornell guards around the 3-point arc, forcing them to opt inside where they were less comfortable.

Things were now happening how Joseph envisioned it would go after seeing a week’s worth of the Big Reds offense in practice. Joseph said Boeheim during team drills would line up his best scout-team shooters — James Southerland, Nick Resevey and Griffin Hoffman — and unleash them on the first-string defense until they learned to control it.

‘They were just shooting a lot of 3’s,’ Joseph said. ‘Just running the court, pulling up in transition, which was exactly what they do. And all those guys do a great job simulating what Cornell was going to do, so we could prepare for it mentally.’

As the SU zone continued to excel in the second half, Cornell began to make an increasing amount of errant passes and costly turnovers. What was once a cautious, controlled offense was now playing right into the hands of its opponent.

With Syracuse leading 56-41, Cornell’s Ryan Wittman tried to resurge the Big Red from 3-point range by whipping a pass across the arc to a screening Wroblewski. But this time, Rautins knew better and intercepted the pass mid-air, dishing the ball to a wide-open Rick Jackson for a powerful two-handed jam.

‘That’s where we get our offense from, our defense,’ Rautins said. ‘And we were contesting shots and they weren’t knocking them down and we were contesting their post game and blocking a bunch and changing a few shots, too, and getting a few steals and getting out in transition. Our ‘D’ is where it stems from.’

After the game had ended, Boeheim told the media and his players that this win was one of the team’s best all season. SU showed it would refuse to get caught in a potential trap game after rattling off two Top 25 wins in a row.

But for Joseph, it was important for another reason. Knowing how important the zone is to his team’s success, he knew SU couldn’t chicken out and play man-to-man once things got tough.

Though the Big Red’s offense was designed to baffle Syracuse’s defense, he wanted to stick with the gameplan and do what he feels his team does best.

‘That is our focus, our defense,’ Joseph said. ‘It’s our bread-and-butter.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on November 24, 2009 at 12:00 pm