Louisville’s ball movement and hot shooting expose SU’s defensive flaws

There were two offenses on the court Tuesday night at the JMA Wireless Dome.

One offense moved the ball and created open threes for its shooters, while the other stagnated and made unforced turnovers.

Any good vibes Syracuse created during its two-game win streak were blown away after losing to Louisville 85-61 Tuesday night. The Cardinals extended their win streak to seven as Syracuse fell below .500 (8-9) on the season.

After scoring 26 points against Boston College, J.J. Starling struggled to find any rhythm on offense. The Cardinals gave Starling no space and held him to four points on 1-7. While the junior looked like the point guard Syracuse needed against the Eagles, the pressure he received today left him with more turnovers than assists (6 to 4).

With taking on the leadership role since his return, the weight of the loss was heavy on Starling’s shoulders.

“This is the first time I felt I got punked,” Starling said. “I don’t want to ever have this feeling again. I’m going to make sure I go watch film and go back to the gym to clean some things up.”

Syracuse kept the game close before the Cardinals got out to a 31-20 with 6:30 left in the half. The Orange showed a little fight with a 7-0 run thanks to some big shots from Jyare Davis to cut the deficit to four. Despite scoring a team-high 10 points in the first half, Davis did not get a single shot off after halftime.

JJ with the pretty feed to Petar 👀

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Chris Bell had the second most points in the half with 6.

“We didn’t get anything from some of the guys we had been getting some (scoring) from,” Autry said. “That’s hard to overcome when they do a good job on J.J.”

Louisville closed the half on a 12-0 run fueled by a trio of threes from Chucky Hepburn and a fourth from Reyne Smith. Hepburn proved unstoppable, scoring 24 points on 8-13, 6-10 from three, and seven assists. On defense, the ACC’s leader in steals proved he was up to the challenge of guarding Starling.

“They were heavy in the gaps. J.J. is good at driving,” Kyle Cuffe Jr. said. “He can get past the first defender but they did a good job of helping.”

Cuffe himself struggled as well. Scoring only 5 points on 2-7 shooting.

“I think I missed three threes today. Those are the open shots we have to make. We have to relieve him when he drives and kicks out to us.”

Despite coming into the game shooting 30% from three as a team, Pat Kelsey’s team shot lights out behind the arc. UL shot 12-28 (42%) from three, including 8-16 in the first half.

In the second half the Orange’s offense picked up but couldn’t keep up with Louisville. With the Cardinals shooting threes at will, the Orange resorted to tying a season-high with 25 three-point attempts.

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Syracuse shot a respectable 46% from the field and 30% from three in the second half, but the defense couldn’t slow the Cardinals down to close the 16-point halftime deficit.

Bell scored 12 points in the second half and led the team with 18 points. He has scored 13 or more points in three of his last four games.

As it has been all season, the defense continued to be a problem for Syracuse. All five of Louisville’s starters scored in double-figures and the Cardinal’s ball movements kept Syracuse on the run and left shooters open all game.

“We have to play through when we get down,” head coach Adrian Autry said. “Like we did against Boston College. We kept fighting.”

Syracuse hosts Notre Dame at 4 p.m. on Saturday for their second matchup of the season. The Orange lost to the Irish in South Bend earlier in the season without Starling.