Syracuse upsets No. 18 Virginia, 63-55, with OT scoring outburst
Kaci Wasilewski | Senior Staff Writer
Joe Girard III scored 17 points in the upset victory.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — His goal was only to hit the rim. Maybe get a rebound, another chance. Buddy Boeheim caught the ball near half-court with just three seconds to make a play. Syracuse’s lead that always seemed in reach would be one stop closer to evaporating. The ball trickled into his hands with hopes of salvaging a lost possession. Buddy did all he could. He turned, located the rim, and launched the ball as high as possible.
The ball floated down out of the sky, and across the court, Joe Girard III got a “weird feeling.” Boeheim, vacated from his bench seat, didn’t think it had a chance but was glad his team had used the duration of the shot clock. Yet as it neared nylon, Buddy thought it was on line.
“Man…” Buddy said after the SU win. “Craziest shot I’ve ever hit.”
Nothing had changed for the Orange: No team meetings, dinners or groundbreaking game-plans. Tony Bennett said Syracuse’s (9-7, 2-3 Atlantic Coast) shocking surge and eventual 63-55 overtime win over No. 18 Virginia (11-4, 3-2) wasn’t a fluke, yet Boeheim couldn’t hold a smile off his face postgame. SU earned its first NET-100 win of the season against an opponent that embarrassed it on opening night, limiting the Orange to the fewest points in the 44-year Boeheim era. The Orange’s 20-point five-minute period was more than they scored in the first half of their season-opener against the Cavaliers and more than the second half of Saturday’s game.
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Boeheim insisted after the season-opener that the UVA defense would be the best SU would play until they met again. Saturday, it was until, in seemingly an instant, it wasn’t. Syracuse shot just 25.9% from the field across the first 40 minutes, but scorched the answerless Cavaliers with an 85.7% clip on seven shots in the added minutes.
“This one felt great,” Girard said. “You’re a lot happier when you win games. It’s as simple as that.”
Offense eluded the early part of the game. Back-and-forth baskets masked the futility of each offense as the matchup brought one missed opportunity after another. Defensive stops followed misses on the other end. In the Orange’s first game of the season, a 48-34 loss to the Cavaliers in the Carrier Dome, offense was similarly scarce and recent inefficiency from both teams promised — warned, really — of much of the same.
Kihei Clark struck an early 3-pointer but few more would follow. The game went through countless scoring stretches as strong defense salvaged a game heading towards offensive disaster. The Cavaliers turned the ball over six times in the first six minutes, and SU somehow surprised by simply playing cleaner. The Orange went to the break with a four-point lead, Elijah Hughes skied for a highlight dunk and the Orange’s lead only grew. Virginia hadn’t shown any firepower at all.
But, suddenly, it shifted. A poor-shooting Virginia team hit three-straight 3-pointers to cut SU’s lead to one. A Jay Huff turnaround hook shot gave Virginia the lead. Down three points, Bourama Sidibe flashed inside toward a ball that bounced off his hands towards the sideline. Sidibe tracked down the ball, only to cough his save into the hands of Kihei Clark, who finished at the other end of the court with a layup.
As Virginia’s bench jumped, holding its largest lead of the game, Sidibe walked off the court with his head down. Girard put his arm around Sidibe’s back and gave him a nudge.
“We could have easily folded and gave them this game,” Buddy said. “No one thought we were going to win this game… We got a lot of fight left in us.”
For a while, teams traded free throws for twos. Syracuse started to hit its mark from beyond the arc: Girard drained a faceup long-ball, Hughes pulled up off the catch and Buddy nailed one more from the corner.
Two free throws from Clark knotted the game at 43. A possession each came up empty, and five more minutes remained on the clock. Diakite hit a tough layup to start the overtime period, but five SU 3-pointers on six tries ensued. Hughes, then Girard, then Buddy. Huff worked down low with the Cavaliers down five, but Hughes poked the ball loose. The Orange worked the ball around, and when shot clock wound, Buddy hoisted his prayer and Girard pulled up to add another. Girard turned to the SU bench and ripped his hand in a cutting motion across his neck.
A win for Syracuse is less of the performance that keeps its tournament window cracked open and more a pebble pelted at one already closed. Enough blows — repeated wins over opponents perceived far superior — and the Orange could possibly break through, shattering the unflattering expectations it’s built. In their remaining 15 games, the Orange need so much more.
Yet Saturday, Syracuse got an offensive explosion that’s been so hard to come by, at a time when it seemed impossible. After the shot that solidified the win, Buddy opened up his palms by his sides and smirked. It was a feeling in part of disbelief. A low-percentage shot clinched a win that had hardly any probability. Boeheim said it was “lucky.”
“But that’s 0kay,” Boeheim said. “Sometimes you need to get a little bit lucky.”
Published on January 11, 2020 at 6:32 pm
Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary
