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BLACKSBURG, Va. — After Syracuse erased Virginia Tech’s lead and tied the game with six minutes left in the second half, the Hokies used two dunks — and three consecutive baskets overall — to quickly make it a six-point lead again. That prevented any final pushes from the Orange, as they fell to Virginia Tech 71-59 for their first loss in five games.

The Hokies hit seven 3s in the first half and torched the Orange’s zone using that approach, but when they only made one in the entire second half, it became a more balanced attack. Justyn Mutts notched a triple-double for the Hokies, while Keve Aluma led them with 20 points. For SU, Buddy Boeheim paced the offense with 21 points, recovering from a six-point first half, but the Orange struggled to consistently fill the gap left by an injured Jesse Edwards.

Here are some observations from the Orange’s loss:

Life without Edwards at center

For the first time this season, Syracuse’s starting lineup included a change: Frank Anselem listed instead of Edwards, who will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a fractured left wrist near the end of SU’s win against Boston College earlier this week. His operation occurred on Friday, and his absence forced the Orange to utilize a combination of Anselem and Bourama Sidibe at center against the Hokies. Anselem finished with six points, 15 rebounds and two blocks, while adding three fouls. Sidibe, on the other hand, only played three minutes and committed three fouls.

Mutts’ triple-double

Mutts started streaking down the court after Buddy dribbled inside the 3-point arc, drew a second Virginia Tech defender and turned the ball over. It was the 6:18 mark of the second half, and if Buddy had connected on that shot — whatever type it ended up being — SU may have completed its gradual, methodical comeback. 

But Buddy turned the ball over, and Hunter Cattoor lofted a pass for Mutts at the rim for a dunk. On the next possession, Mutts added another jumper. His presence on offense helped the Hokies carve through Syracuse’s zone and create open 3s. He finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for the triple-double.

Early SU turnovers, and VT’s points off of them

At one point late in the first half, the Orange had committed turnovers on five of six possessions. The stretch started after Buddy connected on a 3-pointer — one of just two shots he made in the opening frame — and gave SU a 26-24 lead. But that quickly became a 35-26 advantage for the Hokies. They finished the first half with 12 points off of SU’s eight turnovers, using active man-defense inside the 3-point arc to counter the Orange’s emphasis on driving inside toward the paint when shots from beyond the arc didn’t materialize.

The first miscue came with 4:31 left in the first half, when Buddy couldn’t find an opening to inbound the ball and Syracuse committed a five-second violation. Then, after Darius Maddox connected on a 3, Joe Girard III attempted to thread a pass to Anselem cutting toward the block. After that, it was Cole Swider bobbling a pass off his hands.

Given how high, or near the perimeter, those turnovers occurred, it created difficulties for the Orange and their transition defense — giving them odd numbers not in their favor, and leading to looks either on the drive or kicked-out passes to the corners or wings for 3s.

Virginia Tech’s 3s

For the first five minutes of the game, Virginia Tech didn’t shoot a 2 and finished the first half with seven made 3s. A no-look pass to Nahiem Alleyne in the corner with 15 minutes left put Virginia Tech up 47-37.

But after shooting 3 after 3 to open the game, the Hokies made just one in the final 20 minutes.

Jimmy from 3

An early bright note for Syracuse’s offense: For the last five games, Jimmy Boeheim hadn’t hit more than one 3-pointer in a game — dating back to the Duke loss on Jan. 22 when he connected on a pair — but he started to find a groove early in the first half against the Hokies. Using a long, exaggerated shot, Jimmy made 3s on consecutive possessions, with one from the left wing and the other from the right, to pull Syracuse back within 13-12 after the Orange fell behind by seven early.

The second one surfaced after an SU out of bounds play, when Girard, holding the ball behind the arc, took a pair of steps inside before flipping the ball to Jimmy for his 3 from the top of the key. He finished the game 2-for-5 from beyond the arc, and helped ignite SU’s 3-point approach that helped it finish with 10 or more for the fifth consecutive game.

Published on February 12, 2022 at 8:27 pm

Contact Andrew: arcrane@syr.edu | @CraneAndrew