MADISON, Wis. — With defensive futility came much of the same helplessness on offense for Syracuse, specifically in the final 20 minutes. SU’s four-point deficit at halftime was as close as it would ever get to the lead again.

“We made some jump shots in the first half that we missed in the second half,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. “We made four or five in the first half from 3. We were 1-for-10 in the second half.”

Boeheim perfectly recited the box score, one that painted a bleak picture in No. 22 Syracuse’s (4-2) 77-60 loss to No. 17 Wisconsin (6-2) on the road Tuesday night. The Orange shot 32 percent in the second half compared to 44 percent in the first. Neither clip stood tall enough to back down the Badgers, whose most impressive feat was shooting 7-of-13 from 3 in the first half.

More than anyone else, Andrew White’s performance was indicative of how the game ebbed for Syracuse. The fifth-year senior almost single-handedly resuscitated the Orange in the first half, making 4-of-6 3s to accumulate 14 points in the opening 20 minutes. But that’s when his offense dried up. He didn’t tally a single point in the second half, and appropriately SU struggled to do the same.

“I take a lot of the responsibility for that,” White said of the offensive drop off in the second half. “I know what my role is and I need to make sure I help my team on both ends, especially offensively, and make sure I do that efficiently.”

The Nebraska transfer went 0-for-6 on his second-half shots, including a trio of errant 3s. White’s perimeter shooting has been the fuel all season that Syracuse has needed to get going. Good play from the point guards has helped, but White’s knack for making shots in bunches has left the Orange out of opponents’ reach.

But when the shots didn’t fall Tuesday night, SU was vulnerable. The Badgers streaked on a 15-2 run to begin the second half, and there wasn’t much life left on the visitors’ sideline with a four-point deficit cranked to 15 in a little over five minutes.

“I think if you depend on jump shots the whole game, it’s probably going to catch you,” Boeheim said.

This was the second game White finished as Syracuse’s leading scorer without making a basket in the second half. The Orange got away with that against Monmouth, but there was no chance that would be the case against Wisconsin.

Unfairly or not, it appears that much of the offensive burden rests on White. He entered the season’s as the team’s most proven scorer, and he’s shown that much. But Syracuse has also shown that White alone won’t be enough against quality opponents, which SU hadn’t faced up until the last two games — both losses.

“Coach has been telling me all year, I can’t go into every game just expecting to get open jump shots,” White added. “I have to mix my game up a little bit and show some more ability.”

Published on November 30, 2016 at 1:34 am

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman