B.J. Johnson usually sits on the bench to the right of assistant coach Adrian Autry, and stays there.

But on Monday night he started for the first time in conference play in his Syracuse career. The Orange (18-12, 9-8 Atlantic Coast) expected No. 2 Virginia (28-1, 16-1) to pack in on defense and tightly cover Rakeem Christmas, giving up open 3s for Johnson to make.

“We thought we could get him those shots,” Jim Boeheim said. “He got two or three good looks in the first half and we need to make those.”

The Cavaliers gave up open 3s to Johnson. He just didn’t make enough of them as SU feel to UVA, 59-47. In just his fourth career start, Johnson played 30 minutes, scored three points on 1-of-6 shooting and 1-of-5 from 3 with three steals and three rebounds.

It was tied for the sophomore’s second-longest appearance for the Orange. And while he played capable defense, SU was dominated on the boards and Johnson hardly did enough in his shooting to make up for it.

“Every time I get the opportunity I just try to make the most of it and I think we knew the way Virginia played defense they were going to lock it in and then we’d kick out 3s so (Boeheim) gave me the start,” Johnson said.

Boeheim said the Orange needed to make seven or eight 3s to beat UVA. Instead, Syracuse shot 4-of-19 from three-point range.

Looking forward to next season, Johnson said he needs to improve his confidence to shoot his way onto the floor more or into the starting lineup again. On Monday night, his and the Orange’s shooting was nowhere close to enough to truly test the Cavaliers down the stretch.

“If they’re going to put that much attention on Rak, then we have to make some of those 3s,” Boeheim said. “If you don’t, you have no chance.”

Published on March 3, 2015 at 12:16 am

Contact Jacob: jmklinge@syr.edu | @Jacob_Klinger_