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Turnovers, defense spark big second half in Syracuse’s 69-52 win over Indiana

Trevor Cooney

Getty Images

The second half of Tuesday night looked a lot like last March’s Sweet Sixteen game when the Syracuse zone defense caused problems for the Indiana offense.

The Hoosiers tied the game early in the second half before falling into a 13-minute drought. During which the Orange broke open the game, claiming the first game in their first Big Ten/ACC Challenge and remaining perfect with a 69-52 victory over the Hoosiers on Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome.

The extended drought was only made worse by Indiana’s decision-making. To start the second half, the Hoosiers had some bad possessions. And as the scoreless string progressed, the turnovers piled up. Indiana ended the first half with six turnovers, but nearly equaled that mark early in the first half. That only made the rout that much easier for the Orange.

Unlike last season, IU lacks deep ball threats. That was evident by the team’s 4-of-14 shooting from three, all four of them coming from Yogi Ferrell, who looks like the only one confident when rising up from behind the arc.

But credit to the Syracuse defense. Tyler Ennis (17 points) and Trevor Cooney (21 points) led the offense, but also provide a more than formidable tandem at the top of the 2-3 zone, combining for eight steals. The bottom part of the zone matched up with the length and athleticism Indiana offered, with the likes of C.J. Fair, Jerami Grant, Rakeem Christmas and the other Cuse bigs made it tough for the Hoosiers wings and forwards to get easier looks. Syracuse ended the first half with seven blocks, and continued to cause problems in the second half.

Will Sheehey and Jeremy Hollowell combined for 2-of-11 shooting for eight points. Troy Williams went for six points -- two points off a breakaway dunk, the other off a putback slam.

Syracuse also controlled the glass in the second half against the nation’s top rebounding team. Indiana ended the first half with nine offensive boards, which helped the Hoosiers erase a slow start that saw Cuse jump out 10-0. But in the second half, the Orange allowed only two offensive boards -- zero falling into the hands on Noah Vonleh, who ended with a team-high 17 points (13 coming from the line).

Cooney and Ennis continue their stellar offensive play from Maui last week. Cooney drilled five threes, one more than the entire IU team while Ennis filled the stat sheet, the most impressive his eight assists to one turnover (he turned the ball over only twice in Maui).

Both teams get back in action on Saturday with Cuse hosting Binghamton and the young Indiana team looking to learn from its first true road game in a matchup against North Florida

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