Taking to the streets in search of a big win, the Syracuse Orange decided to make things easier for the Orange fans by collapsing in the first half against the Virginia Tech Hokies.
The Orange have now lost three of their last four games and with the Virginia Cavaliers heading to the Dome on Monday night it’s getting late early for this group. Here are three takeaways from a disappointing performance at Blacksburg.
Death from the High Post
Virginia Tech got the ball to Justyn Mutts or Grant Basile at the high post with ease in the first half. The ball that got into this spot immediately collapsed the zone and resulted in layups or open threes. The Hokies had 18 assists and 52 points at halftime because they forced the Orange into scramble mode simply by getting the ball to the foul line. Jim Boeheim tried 1-3-1 but quickly gave up.
Virginia Tech settled down in the second half but still finished the game with 26 assists on 32 field goals as their ball movements left Syracuse defenders unable to keep up. The Hokies were 19-28 inside the arc and the Orange had no response for Basile (25 points) inside, Hunter Cattoor (20 points) outside, or Mutts (11 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists) anywhere.
Photo by Brian Bishop/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Freshmen emerge while seniors stumble
Judah Mintz rebounded from the UNC finish with 21 points and 8 assists (he had five turnovers). Maliq Brown was making his first career start and Justin Taylor got the early call and the two Virginia freshmen were positives at Blacksburg. Taylor had 9 points in the first half and finished the game with 12 points. Brown had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks and his defense on the press helped the Oranges keep things interesting for a while in the second half.
On the other hand, Jesse Edwards started strong but ran into big trouble when Syracuse really needed their defense. and while we didn’t expect Joe Girard to continue scoring 20+ goals a game, he only had two free throws in the first half and finished with just 7 points. In a big street game like this you need your experienced players to improve and only Symir Torrence did last night (8 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals).
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Photo by Ryan Hunt/Getty Images
Where was the urgency?
Syracuse’s postseason hopes hung by a thread coming into this game. This was another chance for a Quad One win against a team that easily beat Orange a couple of weeks ago. However, we saw no pressure across the court as the Hokies took a 21-17 lead and played 10 minutes before a 52-33 half-time advantage.
Edwards was in big trouble. Girard and Chris Bell had been ripped because of the defensive problems, but Syracuse continued to watch the Hokies open and open 3 after 3. In the second half, a unity of Torrence, Mintz, Taylor, Brown and Hima generated turnovers, got defensive rebounds and made baskets to play the Orange within 12 points with 10 minutes. They couldn’t keep the run but one has to wonder why Böheim let the game get away in the first half without giving this group a chance to keep Syracuse in the game.
No one expects the orange to press from the opening tip, but you have depth and athletes who have shown their pressure can change the flow of the game. So why did it take a 22-point deficit to see a pressure attempt?
For a team that should play like it’s March, Syracuse looked like the team we saw in November.
What did you take away from last night’s game?
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