Syracuse Basketball: Top keys to Orange exacting revenge against Hokies

Syracuse basketball has a rematch with Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon. Here’s what the Orange needs to do differently to succeed.

Syracuse basketball held a nine-point edge after intermission versus Virginia Tech inside the Carrier Dome on Jan. 7. Then the Hokies started hitting shots, particularly from deep, and Virginia Tech stunned the Central New York crowd in coming away with a four-point triumph.

Now the Orange (10-7, 3-3), in the midst of a modest two-affair winning streak, travels to Blacksburg, Va., on Saturday afternoon, when it will square off with the Hokies from Cassell Coliseum, where Virginia Tech (13-4, 4-2) traditionally performs quite well.

This is a pivotal Atlantic Coast Conference collision. For one, the Hokies are one game ahead of the ‘Cuse in the league standings. Secondly, Syracuse wants to avoid getting swept by Virginia Tech in the 2019-20 regular season.

Finally, the Orange has a near-term slate of several contests where it absolutely can prevail, and the ‘Cuse must begin to pile up ACC achievements if it has any hope of earning an invite to March Madness.

Syracuse needs to control the boards. In their previous meeting, the Orange, a much taller team, only out-rebounded the Hokies by one. That won’t do. Since Virginia Tech takes a ton of attempts from 3-point range, if the ‘Cuse gives the Hokies extra possessions, Virginia Tech will likely make Syracuse pay dearly at one point or another.

The Hokies are one of the premier 3-point shooting groups in the conference. The Orange’s 2-3 zone entices its foes to hoist up a lot of looks from beyond the arc. If the ‘Cuse guys aren’t active on defense, and Virginia Tech gets easy attempts from 3-point land, it’s a recipe for disaster for Syracuse.

In the last go-round, the Hokies connected on a mere 27.8 percent of their 3-point attempts, but they made 10 shots from deep. Virginia Tech ultimately had a 12-point advantage in 3-point scoring, and that’s instrumental in a closely fought bout.

The Orange, unequivocally, has to stop fouling guys when they are shooting from beyond the arc. The Hokies tallied a pair of four-point plays, and overall Virginia Tech held a four-point lead at the charity stripe.

With about 12 minutes to go in their initial encounter, the ‘Cuse found itself up, 40-31. But then the Hokies went on a massive run to climb back in front. Syracuse has to stay composed and not enable Virginia Tech to journey on a similar sizable spurt.

The keys here are for the Orange to not give up a bunch of second-chance buckets or points off turnovers. It’s inevitable that the Hokies will make some 3-point shots, however, the ‘Cuse cannot let Virginia Tech cluster these long-range baskets together in big bundles.

Syracuse is an impressive 2-0 on the road in ACC battles at this juncture, and should the Orange seek to continue that trend, it will have to remain disciplined in its zone and perform admirably on offense. No smooth task, but I’m hopeful that the ‘Cuse is ready for such a formidable challenge.