Syracuse had no answers offensively in the second half and had fallen behind by nine points to No. 2 Virginia. So as the Orange have done all season, they put the ball in Tyus Battle’s hands.

De’Andre Hunter opposed Battle. Hunter slid his feet as Battle looked to go left, then rose up as Battle cut back right for a right elbow jumper. Hunter blocked the shot, leaping enough to push it toward the sideline. Battle didn’t have an answer.

“The whole team in general made it tough for me,” Battle said. “That’s why they’re the No. 1 defensive team in the country.”

As Battle has struggled this season, so usually has Syracuse (19-11, 10-7 Atlantic Coast). Battle shot 5-of-19 on Monday night, and Virginia (27-2, 15-2) dominated the Orange, 79-53. Whenever Hunter, whom SU head coach Jim Boeheim called a lottery pick, guarded Battle, he wasn’t able to score. As the Cavaliers found success from 3 in the second half, SU and Battle faltered, and what looked like a potential upset bid early turned into a blowout.

“When (Battle) doesn’t score for us, that’s an issue,” Boeheim said. “… We have trouble scoring when Ty doesn’t score.”

Battle’s first shot may have signaled the game to come. He drove right and took a floater from about 12 feet along the right side of the lane. It looked good off his hand, but it rolled in-and-out. His next shot was a step-back at the top of the key that was blocked. The SU junior had two stretches in the game where he missed four-straight shots, and once more with five misses in a row.

The limited success Battle did have was when 5-foot-9 Kihei Clark matched up with him. In those spots, Battle used his 6-foot-6 frame to power down toward the paint and rise up over the much shorter defender. But by the second half, it was almost all the 6-foot-7 Hunter on Battle.

Hunter had studied film heading into Monday’s game and knew most of Battle’s moves begin by going left, Hunter said. That’s where Battle likes to dribble before he shoots a step-back, and it’s also the direction he’ll go before spinning in the lane for a righty floater. Hunter decided he’d deny that, and it stifled Battle.

“That’s where most of his moves come from,” Hunter said. “I just tried to cut that off and anticipate anything I could.”

Even when Battle got half a step on Hunter, the Cavaliers responded. Their big men slid off their marks to help, or hedged hard on ball screens. And Hunter trailed quickly enough to deny a pass to any SU player that would’ve been left open by a help defender.

So Battle kept trying to carry the Orange back, and there remained no solution. Shortly after Hunter had blocked Battle midway through the second half, he did it again, on another step-back. Most of the game, Battle wanted foul calls from the officials that never came. But Hunter was just locking him up the way few players have done all season.

“We really wanted De’Andre on him as much as possible,” Virginia head coach Tony Bennett said.

There were scheduled to be six NBA scouts in attendance at Monday’s game. That included longtime NBA player Mike Dunleavy Jr., scouting for the Golden State Warriors, and former SU assistant Troy Weaver, scouting for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Playing in front of them, Battle was tested against the NBA-length of Hunter.

Missing 14 shots wasn’t the show Battle wanted. He’d tested the NBA Draft waters a year ago, and much of the lukewarm interest was due to questions about his jump shot. He didn’t show much response when faced with Hunter and one of the country’s best defenses.

After the game, asked if this had been his last ever game in the Carrier Dome, Battle didn’t make any promises. But that’s a worry for another night. For now, Battle will just be focused about becoming Syracuse’s answer again.

“There’s always answers,” Battle said. “We’ll figure those out.”

Published on March 4, 2019 at 10:51 pm

Contact Billy: [email protected] | @Wheyen3