After his Syracuse Orange held No. 1 seed Indiana to just 50 points in upsetting the Hoosiers on Thursday and advancing to the Elite Eight, coach Jim Boeheim said, “This is one of our best defensive teams ever.” He may just be right.  Hoops analyst Ken Pomeroy has, since Syracuse’s title season in 2003, reported teams’ adjusted defensive efficiency, an estimate of how many points they’d allow per 100 possessions against the average Division I team. Syracuse is, by that measure, the eighth best defensive team in the country this year, allowing just 86.9 points per 100 possessions on an adjusted basis. Just four teams with better defensive ratings remain in the tournament, led by No. 1 overall seed Louisville, which won two of three meetings with Syracuse this season.  Syracuse’s zone defense nearly always makes the Orange one of the better defensive teams in the country, but for as long as Pomeroy has been ranking defenses, Syracuse’s had never been as good as it is this year. Before this season, its best rank since 2003 was 16th, in 2011; its best defensive efficiency was 89, in 2010. This year, the Orange rank first in Div. I in block percentage, seventh in steal percentage, third in opponent three-point percentage and 28th in two-point field-goal percentage. In the last 11 years, those rankings are, respectively, tied for the best for a Syracuse team; third best; best; and fifth best. In lots of ways, this club is Boeheim’s best defensively since 2003, if not throughout his tenure.  So why is Syracuse a No. 4 seed and not a No. 1? Because its offense isn’t quite as good as its defense. Syracuse is scoring an adjusted 113.5 points per 100 possessions, good for 22nd best in the country and just seventh best among the 12 teams left in the tournament through Thursday. That’s the worst offensive showing for a Syracuse team in six years.
The Count: When Coach Jim Boeheim said this year's Syracuse team was one of his best defensively, he was onto something. Unfortunately for the Orange, their offense isn't quite as good.