Before tip-off of Monday night’s game, Syracuse guards Jonny Flynn and Eric Devendorf joked about trying to limit Colgate to 10 first-half points or fewer.

The funny part? They almost did. The Raiders didn’t crack double-digits until there were six minutes left in the first half, and finished the half with only 13 points. By then, the No. 16 Orange was already up by 30, en route to an easy 86-51 win.

The Orange came out in the man-to-man defense and saw immediate results. After Flynn canned a 3 on the Orange’s first possession, he pick-pocketed Colgate’s Trevaron Vinson for an easy layup to put Syracuse up five just 36 seconds into the game.

It would be a recurring theme. Flynn recorded three steals in the first six minutes that led to three points. No. 16 Syracuse recorded nine first-half steals during a half of shutdown defense that disrupted any form of Colgate attack and never allowed the Raiders (2-3) to challenge.

‘He was so all over the ball, they couldn’t get into their offense,’ SU forward Paul Harris said of Flynn. ‘That led to so many transition baskets and dunks. It was a fun night for the team.’

The Orange forced 15 first-half turnovers, and scored 13 points off of them, often having two players jet out on a fast break for an easy transition bucket. The Raiders, meanwhile, often couldn’t get the ball past their perimeter players, and lost the points-in-the paint battle, 34-2.

‘We were focused as well as we could be,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘I thought we were just sharp coming off of the games we had to play.’

Colgate ended the first half on pace to score the fewest points ever by an SU opponent – 31 by Penn State in 1958 – after making only 5-of-29 field goals. But a quick start to the second half, 10 points in three minutes, prevented Colgate from earning that dubious distinction.

SU’s defense relaxed after the break, as the Raiders would shoot 42 percent from the field, mostly against the Orange’s second line.

‘It proves that when you don’t really focus on defense and you don’t really concentrate, a team that scores 13 scores 38 points in the second half,’ Boeheim said. ‘It’s just focus and concentration.’

Syracuse, historically a zone team, has had ample success with its man-to-man defense so far this season. In its win over then-No.22 Kansas last Tuesday to win the CBE tournament, Boeheim credited a second-half switch to zone as a key reason SU could come out with the win.

Monday, there was no need to switch to a zone. Syracuse started out in the man, allowing better use of a distinct advantage in athleticism over the smaller Raiders. SU switched back to the zone, but only for a few possessions. The players have stated their preference for the man-to-man defense, and have worked to earn time playing it.

‘Coach said before the season that this is a really athletic team, but he said that last year,’ Flynn said. ‘So I didn’t really think we were going to play enough man. But we really stuck to it, and guys are really buying into it.’

The renewed effort represents the Orange’s emphasis on defense this season. Last year, Syracuse gave up 74.3 points per game. In the early stages of this season, that number is down to 67.6.

‘I’ve been trying to work on my defense,’ Devendorf said. ‘(Assistant coach Mike) Hopkins always reminds me in every huddle to keep the pressure and intensity up on the defensive end. And that’s what I’ve been trying to do.’

It doesn’t mean the end of the zone defense in the Carrier Dome, especially with Big East play on the horizon. But Syracuse fans have already started seeing a little more man than they’re used to in the young season.

‘The 2-3 works at certain times,’ Harris said. ‘But tonight was a man-to-man night.’

kbaustin@syr.edu

Published on December 1, 2008 at 12:00 pm