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After Notre Dame used a 13-0 run to pull ahead early in the second half, Syracuse slowly crawled back until it became a one-possession game. But down the stretch, Notre Dame used an efficient offense and a dominant rebound performance to force free throws down the stretch and pull away for a 79-69 win.

Paul Atkinson Jr. led the Fighting Irish with 20 points and 17 rebounds — well above his season averages for both — and Notre Dame shot 40% from the field, while Jimmy Boeheim paced the Orange with 27 points and Buddy Boeheim added 20.

Here are some observations from the Orange’s loss.

Atkinson’s presence inside

With Syracuse leading 19-16, Paul Atkinson Jr. worked his way into the paint and created enough space for an open layup attempt, but that bounced out. He grabbed the rebound, though, and kicked it out to Nate Laszewski on the perimeter for a 3.

On the next possession out of the Under-12 media timeout, with Syracuse and Notre Dame tied at 19, Atkinson converted a hook shot from near the basket to put the Fighting Irish back on top momentarily. He finished the first half with 14 points — already more than his season average of 12.3 — and grabbed 11 rebounds. It forced the Orange into scenarios where they either lost chances at rebounds, surrendered second-chance points or watched as their forwards all picked up at least two fouls.

Atkinson backed Jimmy to the basket and then drew a foul on Buddy after making the layup, giving the Fighting Irish a one-point advantage late in the first half. And overall, Atkinson finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds to continually pierce the Orange’s forwards inside, becoming the latest to effectively navigate SU’s center difficulties this season.

Buddy’s shooting return

In the first half against Georgia Tech on Monday, Buddy missed all seven shots he took before recovering to 15 points against the second half and overtime. But two days later, Buddy shot 5-of-9 in the opening frame to finish with 13 points, though he only made one 3 — with 10 points coming via four made jumpers and two free throws.

He answered an Atkinson tip-in in the game’s early minutes by connecting on a 3-pointer and then by connecting on three consecutive jumpers through the first half. The first one came when strong defense by Notre Dame prevented Cole Swider from executing a catch-and-shoot 3 from the top of the key, leading to Buddy shooting an off-balanced jumper inside. Then, he followed with a deep 2 from the corner before completing the stretch with an elbow jumper.

Buddy only hit 2-of-9 3s but still shot nearly 50% from the field to finish with 20 points — combining for 47 points with his brother, Jimmy.

Jimmy loves the first half

Buddy nearly ended the Orange’s second possession with a turnover, falling to the ground and starting to lose his handle, but he recovered and flipped possession to Joe Girard III. The point guard then passed the ball to Jimmy, who backed Dane Goodwin into the paint and swung around for a floating shot that became Syracuse’s first points.

At one point, Girard realized that Jimmy’s defender had faceguarded him, so he flipped the ball over the top of everyone to his back shoulder. Jimmy couldn’t finish the layup, but he drew a foul. And on the next possession, he drove into the lane with his right hand and finished the layup.

At halftime, Jimmy led Syracuse in scoring with 15 points for the second-consecutive half. He added 12 in the second half this time, finishing 10-of-18 from the field and finishing with his most points in a Syracuse uniform.

Rebounds galore… for Notre Dame (and especially Atkinson)

At times this season, Jim Boeheim has referred to Syracuse’s rebounding problem as solved. But against Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish outrebounded SU 41-28, carried by Atkinson’s 17. Those rebounds, specifically the offensive rebounds, helped Notre Dame generate 15 second-chance points in the first half and 17 overall.

Both centers, Frank Anselem and Bourama Sidibe, found their way into foul trouble again, and at least two of Anselem’s fouls came when he tried to swim around Atkinson’s positioning for an offensive rebound. Sometimes, the offensive rebounds for Notre Dame led to open 3s for players like Laszewski. Other times, the Fighting Irish simply went right back up with the ball and drew fouls.

At the crux of Notre Dame’s early second-half run was its 3-point shooting, but the threat of Atkinson inside helped open up those looks. With 1:03 left, Goodwin lifted his feet off the court for a jumper outside the paint, and Syracuse players crashed toward the basket as the shot arched toward the basket. But despite the four Orange defenders surrounding the left block, Atkinson rose through all of them and emerged with the ball. He drew the foul on Swider, made both free throws and put the Fighting Irish back up by five — stretching the game into a two-possession deficit for SU.

Small note about turnovers

Syracuse finished the first half with just one turnover for the second consecutive game, though it committed six in the second half to finish with seven. Jimmy lost his handle in the opening frame, and Atkinson picked up the steal. Against the Yellow Jackets on Monday, the Orange only recorded four — their fewest in a game this season, with the total one turnover lower than their previous best (5) against Wake Forest on Jan. 29.

Published on February 23, 2022 at 9:19 pm

Contact Andrew: arcrane@syr.edu | @CraneAndrew