Jim Boeheim on win over Wake Forest: ‘We had by the far the best defense we’ve played this year’
James McCann | Contributing Photographer
After Syracuse destroyed Wake Forest, 83-55, on Saturday afternoon, head coach Jim Boeheim said it was the best defense his team had played all season.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Jim Boeheim acknowledged in a joking manner that fouling a lot was a risky way to game plan defensively for a team. But if there’s any team that’s good to foul a lot, it’s Wake Forest, a team that shoots 67.4 percent from the line.
Syracuse committed 27 fouls and Wake Forest made just 25 of its 42 free throws. But putting Wake Forest on the line was more a reflection of the tight defense that Syracuse (12-7, 2-4 Atlantic Coast) played in its 83-55 win over the Demon Deacons (10-7, 1-4) on Saturday afternoon.
“We had by the far the best defense we’ve played this year,” said Boeheim, SU’s head coach. “… I just thought our defense was active. We did a good job. … We didn’t give them any good looks.”
Syracuse wanted to limit Konstantinos Mitoglou, who had scored 26 against the Orange a year ago. He scored just five points on Saturday. SU wanted to keep the ball out of Devin Thomas’ hands. He had just nine points, which was eight below his season average. The Orange wanted to take away the driving lane for Codi Miller-McIntyre. He was just 1-of-7 from the field. It all added up to a game of frustration for the Demon Deacons.
“Wake Forest didn’t make shots,” Boeheim said. “And that’s something that’s hard to overcome.”
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Wake Forest shot just 2-of-20 from behind the arc and just 32.6 percent from the field overall. As a team, the Demon Deacons didn’t generate points off ball movement, recording just nine assists. The game piggybacks SU’s win over Boston College on Wednesday, when it held the Eagles to just 40 points.
On Wake Forest’s second offensive possession, Miller-McIntyre tried to drive from the high post to his right but had his shot blocked by Dajuan Coleman, who picked the ball up and pushed the Orange in transition. And it didn’t get any easier from there.
The Demon Deacons came into the game with a -3.4 turnover margin, while Syracuse is one of the nation’s best in steals. The Orange had 12 on Saturday, and scored 30 points off WFU’s 18 turnovers.
“We limited their shots,” Coleman said. “Definitely taking away the short corner … and the inside play too. I think we did good.”
Published on January 16, 2016 at 4:26 pm
Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3
