Quentin Hillsman stood in the center of a sold-out Carrier Dome on Saturday, with his team behind him, and smirked.

“Our goal every year is to win a National Championship,” Hillsman bellowed to a crowd of over 36,000 for SU men’s basketball’s matchup with Duke, “and that starts Monday.”

For a team shrouded with inconsistencies — turnovers, poor-shooting, defensive mishaps — Monday provided a possible rebirth. Even if the Orange wouldn’t admit it, much of the season hinged on their ability to capture the one win they needed. After every misstep, Hillsman urged a look forward. Big games are on the horizon, games where the Orange can re-establish themselves as a national power.

But, in the season’s biggest test, No. 17 Syracuse (20-7, 9-5 Atlantic Coast) once again faltered. The high-octane, fast-paced offense that Syracuse mimicked from country powers like No. 4 Notre Dame (26-3, 13-2) fell at the hands of its superior. In a 98-68 loss, the Orange were dominated in every facet of the game as their attempted responses were undone by a Fighting Irish two-fold. Monday offered the chance of a “cure-all,” Syracuse junior Gabrielle Cooper said, in front of a potentially record-breaking crowd. But instead it left SU with yet another crippling loss, and a repeated reminder of the unrefined areas it still needs to grow.

“This is the game we have a great opportunity to come on our home floor and beat a very good team,” Hillsman said. “And we didn’t take advantage of the opportunity.”

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The buildup for the game started before the season even began. The Orange, who started the season ranked in the top-25, preached the ability to achieve a “balance” SU hadn’t seen since its trip to the NCAA Tournament. A strong backcourt, a star point guard and forward depth brought memories of the Syracuse’s inside-out attack highlighted by star guards Brittney Sykes, Alexis Peterson and forwards Bria and Briana Day. Looking at the roster at his disposal, Hillsman declared before the Orange played their first game that he expected SU would go 36-0 — a perfect season followed by a run to a National title.

An early season conquest of North Dakota provided clarity as to what SU’s attack can bring, and a close-loss to then-No. 3 Oregon possibly alluded it could extend to opponents much greater. But with its triumphs came a lesser number of missteps — ones that perhaps held greater weight in the quest for its ultimate goal.

All season, Syracuse showed signs: It had versatility. It had star-power. It had depth. But sometimes Syracuse didn’t have enough. All that could change though. It just needed to show up at the right time. While Hillsman couldn’t “win every game” like he’s repeatedly shown the desire to do so, little is there an opportunity to play a game that can correct all past failures.

Monday, Syracuse started on the offensive. After Notre Dame drew a quick foul off the opening tip, SU converted on the game’s opening bucket. Though sloppy play at times overcame SU, between Orange turnovers and transition buckets from UND, timely shooting provided them life.

With the time winding down in the first quarter, Miranda Drummond followed a miss and ran the baseline out to the 3-point line. When her feet crossed, she spun around and fired a 3-pointer that gave SU a one-point edge. After a quarter, it looked like Syracuse could match the Fighting Irish with some more refined play. It was five points. Two possessions. “That’s like nothing,” Tiana Mangakahia said after the game. But then UND caught fire.

Notre Dame outscored SU 22-8 in the second quarter, a number that a small recovery in the third quarter couldn’t fix. Fighting Irish star Arike Ogunbowale effortlessly stroked jumpers from the outside as Syracuse fought for every shot. Mangakahia got into foul-trouble late in the first quarter, and the Orange started to feel the pain of her absence in the second quarter, finishing with 12 turnovers in the first half. UND undid Syracuse with an attack very similar, albeit much more efficient than its own.

Whenever SU found itself in a shooting slump, it prescribed the solution would be to push the ball inside. Notre Dame did so with ease and scored from inside and out, dissecting SU’s limited defensive presence. Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said the Fighting Irish opted for more of a “high-low” game instead of shooting heavily from the outside. As it scored in bunches on the interior, it caused the SU zone to “suck in a little bit,” and UND took advantage from the outside — a game plan the Orange have frequently acknowledged but rarely perfected.

“I guess we kind of just lost our heads,” Drummond said of the collapse. “We weren’t focused.”

Short spurts from SU gave the Orange possible momentum. Near the end of the third quarter, Mangakahia scored an and-1 layup, forced an offensive foul and drained a 3-pointer at the other end. Syracuse worked its way around on the next possession and found Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi alone under the rim. But as Syracuse had a chance to extend its scoring run to 8-0, Djaldi-Tabdi’s layup misfired.

The crowd urged the Orange: In between points from the Fighting Irish and turnovers from Syracuse, it led cheers to push a run, to lead to any sort of momentum. But repeated blows left the crowd of nearly 5000-below the expected total mute.

“It’s very disappointing, I talk about every loss. It doesn’t matter. We want to win every game. I was disappointed against Georgia Tech. I was disappointed against Oregon. I was disappointed …” Hillsman trailed off, laughing. “It’s the same disappointment. It’s not larger or smaller at this point because of Notre Dame, but obviously it’s a great opportunity.”

Postgame, Hillsman was every bit as forward-thinking as he had been all season long. He wishes he could have the second quarter back. But it won’t, and this opportunity — to get a marquee win on its home floor — won’t happen again this season. The Orange have tried for a long time to create a system that would allow them to toe the line of the country’s elites. They made their way to the final game in 2016 and hoped that Monday would provide a gleaming route to find their way back. But, instead, Notre Dame proved to be everything the Orange isn’t. And everything it can’t yet be.

Published on February 25, 2019 at 7:53 pm

Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary