Syracuse (14-8, 4-5 Atlantic Coast) defeated No. 25 Notre Dame (14-6, 5-3), 81-66 in the Carrier Dome on Thursday night. Syracuse has won four of its last five games after an 0-4 start to ACC play.

Here are three quick reactions to the Orange win.

The Hunchback

Notre Dame’s nemesis, Trevor Cooney, played the role again on Thursday. Two seasons ago, he drained nine 3-pointers versus the Fighting Irish. Cooney’s late scoring propelled the Orange to a road win over a Top-10 UND team last year.

The senior scored 15 first-half points and 22 total. His highlight came when he intercepted a Bonzie Colson pass after the Orange had already retreated back on defense. He went right up to the basket and Colson fouled him. He scored 10 points in SU’s 26-3 run that broke the game open, and continued to dominate overall in conference play.

He missed his first three shots to start the second half — including two 3s in the first minute — but hit his last long-ball attempt from the right wing as the score pushed toward a blowout.

Tables Turning

Notre Dame is one of the best offensive teams in the country when it comes to protecting the basketball, averaging just around nine turnovers a game. The Orange had forced that many by halftime, and as a result controlled tempo of the game and created more — and better — shots.

Syracuse only committed eight turnovers on offense, and did a great job creating shots in its half-court offense. Yes, the Irish were without its starting point guard in Demetrius Jackson, but the best offensively efficient team in the country per Kenpom.com shot just 41.8 percent from the field.

Making amends

Dajuan Coleman had a short leash during his first two stints of the night, and for good reason. Colson hit a hook-shot jumper off the glass just 12 seconds into the game. He came out less than two minutes in with the Orange down 5-0. When he re-entered to start the second half, again, Notre Dame scored the first five points.

But he was forced to re-enter the game when Tyler Lydon, who had been playing very well at both ends of the floor, recorded his third foul.

On his first defensive possession he recorded a block. On offense he got fouled after scoring post-power dribble. It got one of the loudest ovations from a Carrier Dome crowd that continues to wait for Coleman to be the play he was expected to be. On the next time down the court, he dunked it again, giving Syracuse a 63-40 lead, it’s largest of the night.

Published on January 28, 2016 at 8:59 pm