Two days after Duke did nearly all of its damage from downtown, Notre Dame was most efficient inside.

Garrick Sherman finished with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, hitting four free throws and snagging eight rebounds. The Fighting Irish (12-11, 3-7 Atlantic Coast) hit just six 3s, working the ball in the paint to the bearded center instead.

No. 1 Syracuse (22-0, 9-0) held on for a 61-55 win over Notre Dame on Monday, but Sherman kept the visitors in the game.

“We had trouble with the five spot,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “Sherman got too much in there against us.”

Against Duke, both teams pushed the ball consistently. It was the kind of run-and-gun offense and fluid basketball fans love. When the Blue Devils’ big men caught the ball in the high post, though, they rarely turned to face the basket.

Monday’s game was entirely different. Notre Dame deliberately slowed the pace, and whenever Sherman had it inside, he looked to score.

“We just did not adjust well,” Boeheim said.

Baye Moussa Keita and Rakeem Christmas struggled to contain Sherman or score themselves after playing well against Duke.

Sherman got to the line six times and wreaked havoc inside. Keita said Sherman “got every single foul to his count.”

“He caused a lot of problems for us because he’s really skilled with his body,” Keita said. “He was aware when he got the ball. Second half we tried to limit him inside there.”

In the first half, Boeheim lashed out at both Christmas and Keita on separate occasions. He threatened to take Christmas out after he missed a defensive rotation. Christmas frowned, but picked it up over the next few plays.

Syracuse, though, wasn’t efficient overall. The Orange was outrebounded 33-28 overall, and 13-9 on the offensive glass.

Said Boeheim: “It just was one of those games where we were not sharp at all.”

Published on February 4, 2014 at 1:10 am

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass