Syracuse dominates the paint. Duke’s frontcourt made it look pedestrian.
Syracuse has won 11 games with dominant paint play, propelled by Uche Izoje. But on Sunday, Duke’s frontcourt bullied SU in its 71-51 loss. Matthew Crisafulli | Contributing Photographer
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Syracuse had just finished its season opener, a 74-50 victory over Stony Brook, and head coach Felisha Legette-Jack had something she wanted to say.
“Well,” Legette-Jack began. “We’re back.”
It was a bold proclamation, one that came as a response to a question about SU’s remarkable paint presence against the Seawolves, a game where the Orange outrebounded them 52-27.
Legette-Jack — a former post player herself — has prided herself on having dominant rebounding teams at every stop of her coaching career: Hofstra, Indiana, Buffalo and Syracuse. That wasn’t the case last year, but in her eyes, SU’s disappointing 12-18 season was an aberration. The team Legette-Jack had grown accustomed to coaching had returned. Stony Brook was proof.
“Everyone can rebound,” Legette-Jack said. “That’s what we lay our hat on.”
Through 12 games, the Orange had lived up to her declaration. They entered Sunday averaging 19.2 offensive rebounds per game, a mark that ranked third among Division I programs. Their total of 230 offensive rebounds ranked fourth in the nation, while their average of 44.8 boards per game ranked 14th. Syracuse had spent the season bullying its way to an 11-1 start, priding itself on physical play in the paint on both ends.
At least until Duke came to town. On Sunday, SU hosted the Blue Devils in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener. And the Blue Devils’ (7-6, 2-0 ACC) frontcourt — led by Toby Fournier and Arianna Roberson — spent the afternoon taking Syracuse’s (11-2, 1-1 ACC) lunch money, leading to the Orange’s first conference loss in a 71-51 defeat. Fournier shot a remarkable 10-of-15 from the field, scoring 18 points, snagging seven boards and blocking three shots. Roberson, on the other hand, grabbed 12 boards — five of them offensive — and blocked three shots of her own.
As a whole, the duo helped Duke outrebound SU 48-40. The Blue Devils outdid Syracuse on the glass in three out of four quarters, and the Blue Devils grabbed 17 offensive boards to the Orange’s 16. It was only the third game Syracuse had been outrebounded by their opponent and the first game where it’d been outdone on the offensive glass.
It was a significant reason behind the Orange’s season-low 51-point output Sunday. But Duke’s paint presence was most felt through the absence of SU’s most physically-imposing threat down low.
SU’s freshman phenom center — Uche Izoje — entered Sunday averaging a team-leading 13.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. Even in games where she wasn’t making as much of an offensive impact — such as her four-point performance against SMU — she stuffed eight Mustang shots. The paint belonged to Izoje. It has all year.
“She’s special,” Legette-Jack said following Syracuse’s win over Stony Brook. “Paige Bueckers is special, Hannah Hidalgo’s special, and they’re allowed to play. We’re gonna have to let this young lady play.”
Izoje didn’t look all that special on Sunday. Thanks to Fournier and Roberson, Duke completely neutralized her.
She played 18 minutes, her lowest total since SU’s Nov. 16 win over Wagner. She scored eight points, her fewest since that same date. Her four total rebounds were her lowest output since Nov. 7, while her two blocks weren’t particularly impressive either.
“She’s one of the best players in the conference, arguably in the country,” Legette-Jack said postgame about Izoje. “But no one’s ever going to know it.”
Early on, Izoje was imposing her will the way she had done in the Orange’s previous 12 games. She scored twice off of two first-quarter steals from Sophie Burrows, giving SU an 8-4 lead. Duke began to penetrate the paint to close the first, as Taina Mair cut its deficit with a late and-1 layup, but it was still anyone’s ballgame as the Orange entered the second quarter.
Then everything came off the rails. Fournier was getting layups with ease, while Izoje got into foul trouble like the rest of Syracuse’s players. She collected her fifth foul with seven minutes left in the game. The Blue Devils didn’t shoot particularly well from 3-point land, going 2-for-14, but they also didn’t need to. They were getting whatever they wanted inside the arc.
“If she’s playing 34 minutes, we’re a different team,” Legette-Jack said postgame. “If she has to play 18 minutes, we’re a different team.”
With three minutes left in the third quarter, the Blue Devils held a 19-point lead and 19 made field goals, all of which had come in the paint. Their paint-heavy play allowed them to draw contact effectively, and SU finished with 21 fouls on the day compared to Duke’s 12.
The Orange just had no answers. Frustration was boiling over. Just three minutes out of the half, Mair picked Dominique Darius’ pocket, dribbled the full length of the court and made a tough, contested layup, flanked by Shy Hawkins and Darius in the paint.
Hawkins extended her arms and shoved Mair toward the baseline as she released the shot, desperately trying to stem the bleeding. It didn’t work. Hawkins got called for a flagrant foul, giving the Blue Devils two free throws and an extra possession on top of the layup.
A day where nothing could possibly go right for the Orange.
