A quick take on Syracuse’s 81-66 win over Notre Dame on Thursday night at the Carrier Dome:
WHAT HAPPENED: After Notre Dame scored the first five points of the game, Syracuse went on a 23-1 run to take a 23-6 lead with 10:11 left in the first half. Notre Dame would cut the lead to 12 multiple times early in the second half, but it would get no closer than that the rest of the way. The Irish clearly missed guard Demetrius Jackson, who sat out with a hamstring injury. Notre Dame came into the game averaging an NCAA best 9.2 turnovers per game, but turned the ball over nine times in the first half, and ended up with 11 for the game.
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ANALYSIS: Syracuse, which sits squarely on the NCAA bubble right now needed another quality conference win to pair with its win on the road against Duke last week. The Orange now have it with a convincing win over the 25th ranked Irish. It did it with another brilliant performance on the offensive end, with 45.9 percent shooting from the field and 10-25 shooting from beyond the arc. The Orange was also an uncharacteristic 15 for 16 from the free throw line.
HERO: Trevor Cooney, who came into the game shooting over 50 percent from the field and from downtown in his career against the Irish, had another outburst, leading the Orange with 22 points, including three 3-pointers. Tyler Lydon enjoyed his best conference game, with 15 points on 5-10 shooting from the field.
ZERO: Tempers flared in the second half, starting at the 8:33 mark, with Malachi Richardson and Matt Ryan who were fighting for a loose ball. The two began jawing at each other after the play was blown dead and were both called for double-technicals. Roughly five minutes later, Bonzie Colson bear hugged Lydon after Lydon secured a rebound, and was called for an intentional foul.
WHAT’S NEXT: Syracuse continues its home stand when it hosts Georgia Tech on Saturday at noon at the Carrier Dome. TV: ESPNU.
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