Shooting from long range, the Tar Heels were openly exploiting a season-long weakness for Villanova, which had struggled with perimeter defense.

NPR: North Carolina Tops Villanova 78-71 In NCAAs

"Our perimeter defense was tremendous, " Boeheim said, his arms crossed across his purple tie, the way he stood for much of the lopsided game.

WSJ: Syracuse's D, Carter-Williams beat Indiana 61-50

With Craft anchoring Ohio State's perimeter defense, the Cyclones had trouble getting open shots and missed eight of their first 12 from behind the arc.

NPR: No. 2 Ohio State Beats Iowa State 78-75 On Late 3

The Friars shot 23 of 66 (34.8 percent) for the game, just 3 of 18 (16.7 percent) on 3-pointers against the conference's top perimeter defense.

WSJ: Friars no match for No. 8 Syracuse in 84-59 loss

The Americans got all they could handle from Australia, which led at halftime, 47-43, after dominating the post and exploiting gaps in Team USA's perimeter defense.

WSJ: Menu

That didn't deter the Blue Demons, who gained an early lead by victimizing the Orange's perimeter defense three times in a span of just over 2 minutes.

WSJ: DePaul loses 78-57 to No. 17 Syracuse

Much like the slicing and dicing Teague did Sunday, the Sixers' Jrue Holiday shredded the Knicks' perimeter defense Saturday, notching a career-high 35 points in that game.

WSJ: Who Needs to Play Defense?

"Our perimeter defense was tremendous, " Boeheim said in an arena hallway afterward, his arms crossed across his purple tie, the way he stood for much of the lopsided game.

WSJ: East: Syracuse tops Indiana 61-50; Marquette next

Every time the Knicks made a run, though, the Pacers made them pay for lackadaisical defense, sticking an open, perimeter jump shot.

WSJ: Knicks Get Outmuscled

Paul George (23 points, five rebounds), the league's Most Improved Player, applied suffocating one-on-one defense on Anthony, which allowed other defenders to latch onto the Knicks' perimeter players who'd grown accustomed to seeing open looks from outside.

WSJ: Pacers End Knicks' Season