PHOENIX – Coming into its game with the Syracuse men’s basketball team, Alabama brazenly declared it wouldn’t change its offensive approach against SU’s celebrated 2-3 zone. So what if it helped the Orangemen win the national title?

That approach worked. In Alabama’s 80-71 win over SU last night at America West Arena, the Crimson Tide shot so well against SU’s zone that Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim had to switch out to man defense.

When the Orangemen did that, it opened the door for Alabama center Chuck Davis, who torched Syracuse for 17 second-half points while leaving Jeremy McNeil hapless.

Whether SU played zone or man, Alabama had an answer. And with that, the Crimson Tide sent the defending champs packing.

‘Alabama played extremely well against both of our defenses,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said.

It started off the bat, when Alabama began the game with a barrage of 3-pointers. The Tide nailed six in the game’s first 12 minutes, with Earnest Shelton pouring in three during that span, Kennedy Winston hitting one and Antoine Pettway drilling one on the Tide’s fist possession. When Shelton ended the run, Alabama led, 26-20.

‘Alabama went right out there from the start and were confident and had some really good shots,’ SU forward Hakim Warrick said. ‘They did a good job of taking the zone. That really got them going.’

More importantly, the hot shooting made SU switch from its vaunted 2-3 to more easy-to-attack man-to-man.

‘When you’re playing against a zone, you have to make shots,’ Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried said. ‘We wanted to go inside.’

After Kennedy drilled his second 3 less than five minutes into the game, he skipped down the sideline, exuding confidence.

‘We were getting good looks and knocking them down,’ Kennedy said.

After the Tide finished the first half with 8-for-15 3-point-shooting, it got that chance. Syracuse’s zone flew at Alabama’s outside shooters more and more desperately in the second half but to no avail. Boeheim had to switch to man-to-man to stop the 3-point assault.

It worked – to an extent. While Alabama shot 1-for-7 from beyond the arc in the second half, it was able to isolate Davis, who proved unstoppable.

‘When they went man, our guys really lit up,’ Gottfried said. ‘There was a confidence that they could really get something done.’

‘Once they came out of the zone, it seemed like unless they double-teamed Chuck, he was going to score,’ Alabama forward Earnest Shelton said.

Most of the time, they were right. But with how Alabama played, SU had to pick its poison, and Boeheim decided playing man – with a touch of full-court press – would be the best way to spark his sluggish offense.

Either way, Alabama’s offense dominated.

‘They didn’t score anything inside against the zone in the first half,’ Boeheim said. ‘In the second half, they scored 15 points.’

Said SU guard Gerry McNamara: ‘Alabama played a great game. They shot the ball so well. We can’t say enough about the way they attacked our defenses.’

Published on March 25, 2004 at 12:00 pm