Defense Helps 'Cuse Defeat #18 Louisville, 69-49

Wednesday, February 20

Syracuse, N.Y.

7 PM

Syracuse University

(18-8) (9-4)

Louisville

(18-9) (9-5)

Louisville

Syracuse

Defense Helps 'Cuse Defeat #18 Louisville, 69-49

2/20/2019 8:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse (18-8, 9-4 ACC) used one of its top defensive performances of the season to defeat #18/22 Louisville (18-9, 9-5 ACC), 69-49, on Wednesday night in the Carrier Dome.

The Orange limited Louisville to 14-of-54 (.259) from the field, including a 6-of-28 (.214) effort on 3-point attempts. Syracuse's zone was especially stifling in the first half when it limited the Cards to 1-of-13 (.077) on 3-point tries. The effort helped the Orange construct a 35-23 by the intermission.

HUGHES LEADS BALANCED ATTACK
Elijah Hughes led four Syracuse performers in double-digit scoring with 18. He hit four 3-pointers and also contributed six rebounds and two blocks. Oshae Brissett contributed 16 points, including 12 in the first half, and eight rebounds. Buddy Boeheim and Tyus Battle rounded out the double-digit scoring numbers with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Marek Dolezaj led the Orange with a season-high nine rebounds, one shy of matching his career best.

Syracuse has now won five of the last seven meetings against the Cardinals, including the last two. Louisville, who entered the game averaging 76 points per game, was held to a season-low 49. The 49 points tie the fewest they have ever scored against Syracuse, matching the March 3, 2012 game where the Orange came out on top 58-49.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After a 2-of-8 shooting start in the first half, Syracuse began firing on all cylinders with a 21-5 run. The 8:35 stretch was boosted by a 7-of-16 shooting performance, giving Syracuse a 26-13 lead. The Orange forced three turnovers from the Cardinals while holding them to a 1-of-13 look that included 0-of-7 from behind the arc. 'Cuse had a balanced attack with Hughes, Battle and Boeheim all contributing five points while Brissett added four.

COACH BOEHEIM'S THOUGHTS
"It was a really good game. Louisville has been a really good road team. They won at North Carolina by 20, at Virginia Tech. They have been very good on the road, so it was a good win. I thought the week off helped us. I thought we were able to do some things practice-wise that helped us. We have a couple of days now to get ready for Saturday."

LOUISVILLE STRUGGLES AGAINST THE ZONE
In his first game at the helm of the Louisville program, Chris Mack's Cardinals struggled against the staunch Syracuse defense. The Cardinals were held to a season-low 14-of-54 (25.9 percent) field-goal percentage, while also committing a season-high 13 turnovers. Syracuse outscored Louisville 16-5 on points off turnovers while also winning the second-chance point battle 12-10.

OF NOTE

Wednesday's win moved Syracuse to 3-4 this season against top-25 ranked teams.
Battle moved into sole possession of 20^th on the Syracuse all-time scoring list with 1,544. The junior now needs 16 points to equal Roosevelt Bouie and Todd Burgan, who are tied for 18^th.
The Orange are now 10-4 when scoring first this season and 4-1 in ACC play.
Battle led the team with seven assists, surpassing the 200 mark in his career and reaching 201.
Battle has scored in double figures in 17 of the last 20 games.
The night's crowd of 22,988 is the Orange's 10^th 20,000+ crowd this season.
The Orange have forced 10+ turnovers in every game this season

UP NEXT
Syracuse will host ESPN College GameDay and #1/1 Duke on Saturday, Feb. 23 in front of a sold-out Carrier Dome crowd. Scheduled for a 6 p.m. tip, the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. The crowd is expected to set an attendance record for the largest on-campus crowd in NCAA Division I men's basketball.

Tickets for the Orange's final home game on March 4 against No. 3 Virginia are still available at cuse.com/tickets, 1-888-DOMETIX or in person at Gate B of the Carrier Dome.