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| Syracuse students agree: the off-center camera view at VTech sucks |
Fresh off last Saturday's thrilling overtime victory at Charlottesville and beating Boston College easily in the Dome on Wednesday, the Syracuse Orange head to Blacksburg for another ACC tilt. Less than two weeks ago, Virginia Tech came into the Dome for a late night Tuesday game and won 67-63. After what seemed like a comfortable 33-27 halftime lead, Syracuse really broke down defensively in the second half and just came up short at the end. Looking at the final game stats, they were all pretty even (which you'd expect in a 4-point game) with one glaring exception: assists. The Hokies had great ball movement to keep the 2-3 zone on its heels and amassed 20 assists, while Syracuse had only six. While the zone did force VTech into attempting 36 threes, they made ten of them. Syracuse held a 34-33 rebounding edge, which typically translates to a win, but not that night.
Since that game, Syracuse has found a bit of swagger, while the Hokies continued winning with healthy margins over NC State and Wake Forest. So who has the momentum going into today's game? They both do. This will be a game of who can keep it going. Obviously the star of the show in the Carrier Dome on January 7 was Hokies freshman Jalen Cone, who scored 19 points and was instrumental in the 21-4 run in the second half which helped secure the victory. Syracuse kept team-leader in scoring Landers Nolley in check to a rather pedestrian game in the Dome, so he should still get the focus in Blacksburg. The zone will have to play better this time around to avoid giving up so many assists -- make the shooters create their own shots. Guard Wabissa Bede will dish the ball a lot more than score, so the defense should keep that in mind.
What to watch for with Syracuse? Several questions: can Buddy continue his hot outside shooting? Will Elijah's game be impacted by the rib injury he suffered against BC? Will Marek keep up the impressive offensive play that adds an additional element to his already outstanding play? Now, I'm not saying that the Orange finally have a team that will beat everyone it faces, run through the ACC Tournament, and steal an NCAA bid, but I think this team is starting to find some things that work, some deficiencies from earlier that are being fixed. More minutes for talent like Guerrier, Washington, and even Goodine have given the offense some fresh new looks, which at any given moment could provide the chemistry for a nice run.
I'm seeing a close game, possibly an overtime affair, with Syracuse picking up another solid road victory 88-86. This game is featured at noon ET on the Regional Sports Network. New York area affiliate is the YES Network, and otherwise the list of affiliates is here, which includes potential streaming options as well. I'll be taking in the game from my couch, and Brian is out of town, so I'll try to tweet more than normal to make up for it. See you out there, and Go Orange!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview
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