SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) Syracuse desperately needed a game like this and slumping Louisville obliged.
Elijah Hughes scored 18 points and Oshae Brissett had 16 to lead four players in double figures as the Orange beat the 18th-ranked Cardinals 69-49 on Wednesday night.
The Orange, who had lost two of three, got back on track after being off for a week, and their third win this season over a ranked team was paced by their 2-3 zone defense.
''Louisville has been a really good road team... they've been very, very good on the road, so a good win,'' Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. ''I thought the week off helped us. I thought we were able to do some things practice-wise that helped us.''
Syracuse (18-8, 9-4 ACC) had suffered a 73-58 loss at NC State in their last game, shooting just 35 percent, a weakness the Orange had displayed in all four of their conference losses. They weren't much better in this one (22 of 57 for 38.6 percent) but hit 11 3-pointers and held the Cardinals in check throughout.
''Give Syracuse credit. Their length really bothered our guys,'' Louisville coach Chris Mack said. ''Early on, when we got the ball into the logo and a few areas we were trying to get to, we just didn't convert. Even our offensive rebounds we had trouble converting.''
Louisville entered the game shooting 36.3 percent from 3 and finished 6 of 28 (21.4 percent) and 14 of 54 (25.9 percent) overall, both season lows.
And all the misses had an uncharacteristic effect at the other end - a lack of defensive effort.
''We try to pride ourself on defense,'' said guard Khwan Fore, who had eight points. ''We miss our first couple of shots and ended up letting them get in the lane and drive the ball. I think that's where it all started.''
The Cardinals (18-9, 9-5 ACC) were coming off two tough games. They blew a 23-point second-half lead and lost to top-ranked Duke just over a week ago, and on Saturday barely eked out a 56-55 win over Clemson. Louisville led the Tigers by seven points with 17 seconds remaining and Clemson had two chances in the final seconds to walk off the court with a win.
The slump continued against the Orange.
Jordan Nwora had 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting to lead Louisville, Dwayne Sutton was 1 of 10 for five points and Christen Cunningham missed all six shots he attempted, finishing with four points on free throws and with three assists and three turnovers.
Buddy Boeheim had 14 points and Tyus Battle 11 for Syracuse.
Syracuse led 35-23 at the break and the sluggish Cardinals couldn't get untracked. After Cunningham missed a 3 from the top of the key and Nwora followed with an air ball, Battle converted a steal and dunk, then fed Hughes for an open 3 on the wing. Less than two minutes later, Hughes hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game to boost the Orange lead to 47-28 with 12:05 left.
''It's gonna give me a lot of confidence going to the next one and I'm just gonna try to keep it going,'' said Hughes, who scored just 13 points combined in the previous two games.
Syracuse's 2-3 zone was purring in the first half, too, and the Orange led by as many as 16 after both teams struggled at the start. The Cardinals averted falling further behind by hitting 10 of 12 free throws.
UP NEXT
Louisville hosts No. 3 Virginia on Saturday at noon.
Syracuse hosts top-ranked Duke on Saturday night.