Villanova falters in second half, loses to Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The zone defense that has been a constant of Jim Boeheim's 900-plus victories at Syracuse was prepared for a Villanova lineup consisting mainly of underclassmen, including a freshman point guard, and the result was not a pretty one for the Wildcats Saturday.

The seventh-ranked Orange used the 2-3 zone to harass the Wildcats into 31.5 percent shooting and 16 turnovers and fuel a 17-4 second-half run that produced a 72-61 Big East victory, ending 'Nova's seven-game winning streak.

Before a Carrier Dome crowd of 27,586, largest in the nation to see a college basketball game this season, Villanova (11-5, 2-1 Big East) battled on even terms with the Orange (16-1, 4-0) for about 29 minutes before the frenetically waving hands of the Syracuse defense turned the game and gave Boeheim his 906th career win, second on the all-time list.

"I've seen a lot of good zones here," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "I don't think it was anything special, but I don't mean that in a negative way because I've seen so many good ones. We attacked them a little bit differently.

"Normally we've got more shooters and more perimeter guys. We tried to go inside-out, which was good in the first half, but I thought they did a good job of taking it away in the second half and making us rely on jump shots. It's a cat-and-mouse game."

The Orange did an effective job of double-teaming and frustrating point guard Ryan Arcidiacono, who was making his Dome debut. Arcidiacono shot 2 of 8 from the field, knocked down only one three-point basket, and committed six turnovers.

"Jim [Boeheim] plays it off like it's a little 2-3 zone, but they're very well-prepared for your personnel," Wright said. "They don't play it the same against everybody. They played strong on Arch up top."

Arcidiacono said that after a good first half, which saw the Wildcats lead by two at the break, "we kind of got away from what our game plan was" in the second half.

The Wildcats were very much in the game, trailing by 44-43 with 11 minutes, 15 seconds remaining. But the Orange, playing without second-leading scorer James Southerland, who sat out because of what the school called "an eligibility matter," managed to get rolling.

Ten of the points during their 17-4 run came off Villanova turnovers. Six were provided by freshman Trevor Cooney, who drained back-to-back threes to end the spurt and give Syracuse a 61-47 lead with 5:49 to play. The Wildcats closed to within six with two minutes left but couldn't sustain the rally.

JayVaughn Pinkston led Villanova with 12 points and Mouphtaou Yarou added 11 points and 14 rebounds. The Wildcats, who had won three of their last four games here, held a 40-34 rebounding advantage and pulled down 18 offensive boards leading to 15 second-chance points.

C.J. Fair topped the Orange with 22 points and freshman Jerami Grant had 13 off the bench.