The Syracuse Basketball Squad Falls Flat In Loss To Virginia Tech

The Syracuse basketball team couldn’t keep up their hot streak on the road. What are the major takeaways from this game? And is the season over?

The Syracuse basketball team looked to build on strong performances in its last two ACC contests, after besting Miami and, most recently, Pittsburgh.

Against Virginia Tech, however, the Orange seemed to take a step backwards.

What worked in wins over the Hurricanes and Panthers – hot shooting and a strong defensive effort – did not carry over in Syracuse’s 83-73 setback to the Hokies on Tuesday night in Blacksburg, Va.

I don’t want to get too dramatic here. Losing to a solid Virginia Tech team, which has yet to falter at home in the 2016-17 campaign, isn’t entirely surprising.

Syracuse (10-7) just seemed a bit off in this conference clash. The energy level felt diminished. Our guys squandered an opportunity to pick up their first road victory of the season. And the Hokies (13-3), it’s worth noting, had gotten blown out by N.C. State and Florida State in its past two games.

I thought perhaps the stars would align for the Orange to snag this one. Alas, SU came up short.

Several Virginia Tech players shredded the 2-3 zone in the paint. Many, many thunderous dunks. The Hokies connected on nearly 50 percent of their field-goal attempts, including 40 percent from downtown.

The ‘Cuse, meanwhile, only managed 43 percent from the field, and a paltry 29 percent from

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3-point range. That will not get it done.

On the rebounding front, Syracuse actually held a commanding advantage, 38 to 31. What’s problematic is the 12 assists for the Orange, compared to 20 for Virginia Tech. The Hokies also took care of the ball exceptionally, committing a mere six turnovers, while SU had 11.

SU, for the entire affair, came up with just three steals. This is a true indicator of the defense not holding its own. For this squad to succeed, the roster has to nab more steals, which can provide easy transition buckets.

Freshman Taurean Thompson put together a nice offensive output, with 18 points and eight boards. But, he’s still out of position too frequently on defense. That has required head coach Jim Boeheim to give senior Tyler Roberson more run; he totaled 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting, as well as 10 rebounds.

Sophomore Tyler Lydon, locked in so far in the ACC portion of the schedule, scored a whopping two points and looked a little hobbled in the second half. Hopefully, he’s okay, because we have almost no shot of reaching the post-season without a healthy Lydon.

Frank Howard, the sophomore point guard, saw some minutes with graduate transfer John Gillon struggling. Howard collected four dimes, against no turnovers, although he shot 1-of-5 from the field.

Virginia Tech led virtually from the get-go. In every instance when Syracuse would go on a mini-run to pull within a couple of points, the Hokies would answer back. We simply couldn’t get over the hump.

It’s disappointing for sure, considering how the Orange excelled against Miami and Pittsburgh. ‘Cuse fans hoped those two triumphs foreshadowed a positive outcome on Tuesday night at the Cassell Coliseum.

Not the result for which we expected. Conquests on the road are so hard to come by, as we found out. A sub-par showing meant an inevitable defeat.

"As Boeheim said in his post-game presser, “I think they forgot that we won two games in a row because our defense was good. Our defense was horrendous tonight. Our offense isn’t going to quite be good enough to make up for that level of defense.”"

SU has to pick itself up and regain its footing. The Orange next hosts Boston College on Saturday, Jan. 14. A rematch of the Eagles’ 96-81 drubbing of the ‘Cuse on New Year’s Day. That represented BC’s first ACC victory in nearly two years.

Next: Rapid Reaction: Syracuse Basketball Continues Win-less Road Streak

Syracuse better exact revenge. And get back to its winning ways.

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