Jim Boeheim: "Their Defense Was Really Good"
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim met with the media after his team’s 73-58 loss at NC State.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.
Opening Statement...
“I thought our defense was good in the first half. We couldn’t really get the ball in the basket. When the second half started, we let Braxton Beverly get open. He got open, made those shots, and had nine straight. We couldn’t get anything going offensively. I thought their defense was really good.
I thought offensively Elijah Hughes and Oshae Brissett got some shots. We just didn’t finish. It was one of those games offensively, but I thought their defense was really good. Our defense was good for a while, but not long enough."
On the inside…
“We didn’t really change anything inside, but we had a substitution at forward and we didn’t cover the inside. Our centers left the high post open for two or three jump shots, we didn’t rotate, the forward didn’t get back in, and we didn’t take it away the pass down low.
“We didn’t do that in the second half. They did the same thing in the first half, but we covered it, and we didn’t cover it in the second half. Part of it is your offense goes bad, and I think you lose focus sometimes. We lost focus defensively the second half.”
On Frank Howard and the offense...
“Frank shot the ball well tonight. He’s been shooting the ball better, and he’s the one guy who made shots for us. The two games where we’ve struggled on the road, Virginia Tech and tonight, we shot 20 percent from long range and 30 percent from the field. The games where we’ve played well on the road, we’ve shot in the 40 percent range from three and in the high 40s from the field. We’re not going to win many games shooting like we did tonight. We were 11-for-22 from the foul line, and you’re not going to win with offense like that, particularly on the road, but really anywhere.
“As badly as we played offensively, we should have been down 10 or 15 at halftime. I felt like our defense was really good with forcing turnovers, but again you can’t miss free throws and open shots on the road, and that’s what happened tonight.”
On their four ACC double-digit losses...
“Well, what matters is how many games you win, it doesn’t matter how many you win or loss by. If you win 10 games and you lose eight games by 30 points, it doesn’t matter. We don’t want to do that, but it’s irrelevant how much you lose by.”
On the ACC schedule...
“Every team has a tough stretch at some time during the season. Our backend schedule is ridiculous, but that’s just what it is. You’ve got to go play it. We’ll play teams that have been No. 1 in the country on the road, and other teams that are still really good. That’s just the way it is. The league is very difficult for everybody, and you have to be able to move on. We had a bad game at home and then we went back out, played well and won a couple of good games on the road. You just have to get over these games and have a short memory. There are going to be some tough games in this league throughout the season. I don’t like losing by one or two. I’d rather lose by 10, 12 or whatever it is.”