Syracuse basketball picked up a strong recruiting win on Saturday afternoon, but later on in the evening, the Orange got crushed by Virginia Tech on the road.
The Hokies, on their own turf, defeated the ‘Cuse by a final count of 85-70. Based on Virginia Tech’s NCAA NET ranking, this Atlantic Coast Conference clash represented a coveted quadrant-one opportunity for the Orange, and Syracuse basketball couldn’t cash in versus the Hokies (13-8, 3-7 in the ACC) from the Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va.
The ‘Cuse fell by four points recently to both North Carolina on the Hill and at top-25 Miami, two additional quad-one chances for Syracuse basketball that the Orange let slip away (UNC is hovering right around the cutline between a quad-one and a quad-two game for the ‘Cuse).
In falling to the Hokies, the Orange (13-9, 6-5) has lost three of its past four encounters. The ‘Cuse is nowhere near the proverbial bubble as a possible participant in this spring’s NCAA Tournament, although Syracuse basketball will host No. 7 Virginia this Monday evening in another quad-one shot for the Orange.
The Syracuse basketball defense was porous against Virginia Tech on Saturday night.
Back on January 11 of this year, the ‘Cuse beat Virginia Tech, 82-72, in a contest where the Hokies connected on just 3-of-19 from beyond the arc.
In Blacksburg on Saturday evening, Virginia Tech used crisp, precise passing to shred the Orange zone defense. The Hokies made about 40 percent of their 3-point attempts in going 13-of-32 from deep.
Virginia Tech did cool off from 3-point land in the second half, but the Hokies shot 53.3 percent from the field as a whole and had a huge edge on the glass. Syracuse basketball let Virginia Tech grab 12 offensive rebounds, which led to second-chance scoring opportunities.
Freshman forward Maliq Brown started in place of sophomore forward Benny Williams. Brown had 11 points and five boards. Williams, freshman forward Chris Bell and senior shooting guard Joe Girard III were non-factors.
Freshman forward Justin Taylor made four shots from deep and finished with 12 points. Freshman point guard Judah Mintz did a nice job of getting to the free-throw line. He collected a team-high 21 points and eight assists, but Mintz did have five turnovers.
All in all, while I get that the Orange was on the road in this ACC affair, the ‘Cuse looked pretty lackluster against Virginia Tech. The Hokies made a lot of wide-open 3-pointers. They had 26 assists on 32 made baskets.
Syracuse basketball, meanwhile, generated 13 assists on its 23 made field goals. The ‘Cuse and Virginia Tech each committed 15 turnovers. I personally think that the Hokies are a better squad than their present record might indicate, and it’s understandable to lose away from Central New York in an ACC game.
However, for much of Saturday evening, Virginia Tech was absolutely demolishing the Orange. That proved disappointing to watch, especially since Syracuse basketball had been playing pretty well of late.
Oh well. At least the ‘Cuse picked up a verbal commitment on Saturday afternoon from 2024 four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore from New York City, who also is finalizing a big name, image and likeness deal with businessman Adam Weitsman.