Syracuse (15-8, 5-5 Atlantic Coast) hosts Virginia Tech (12-10, 4-5) in the third game of a four-game home stand on Tuesday at 8 p.m. The Orange has won the first two over then-No. 25 Notre Dame and Georgia Tech to propel itself back into the thick of the ACC standings.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Hokies.

All-time series: Tuesday will mark the 10th all-time meeting. Syracuse is 7-2 in the first nine, and has won the last seven times dating back to 2000.

Last time they played: Virginia Tech got ahead of Syracuse 63-50 with just over six minutes to play in the Carrier Dome on Feb. 3, 2015. Ron Patterson helped lead the charge back and Michael Gbinije scored six points in the final 37 seconds, including a game-winner right before the buzzer to win the game, 72-70.

“One of the best plays in that situation that I’ve seen,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said after the game.

Justin Bibbs and Jalen Hudson combined for 37 points, while Gbinije and Trevor Cooney combined for 36.

The next afternoon, Syracuse University announced a self-imposed postseason ban that barred the team from competing in the ACC tournament and NCAA Tournament in 2015.

The Virginia Tech report: The Hokies, led by former Marquette head coach Buzz Williams, enter Tuesday night on a four-game losing streak. Their last win came against Georgia Tech on Jan. 16. Their signature of the season win came against Virginia at home on Jan. 4. That victory came amid a surprising 4-1 start to the conference season. Their worst losses include a home defeat to Alabama State and a 17-point drubbing vs. St. Joseph’s at Barclays Center.

Virginia Tech features a fast-paced offense that looks to score inside and get fouled a lot — more than a quarter of its points come from the free-throw line, per Kenpom.com. Maryland transfer Seth Allen has been the Hokies’ best scorer of late, totaling a combined 54 points in VT’s past two games. Zach LeDay leads the team in scoring (16) and rebounding (8.1) and has stepped up after Chris Clarke went down with an injury in December.

 

 

How Syracuse beats Virginia Tech: Syracuse forces opponents to play the slowest brand of basketball in the country, and that greatly contrasts with Virginia Tech, a team that uses less than 16 seconds of the shot clock on average, per Kenpom. The Hokies don’t shoot the 3 ball well, so Syracuse should try and force them into taking long-range shots. That was something SU did a good job of against North Carolina earlier in January. The Orange can’t let LeDay have his way and it can’t let Allen go off like he has the past two games. If the Orange controls pacing and spacing, it shouldn’t be too hard to beat a Virginia Tech team that has proven itself to be quite beatable.

Statistic to know: Virginia Tech doesn’t take or make many 3s. That is, except for Bibbs. The Hokies have made 123 3-pointers on the season, and Bibbs has made 49 of those. He shoots at a 50.5 percent clip, which is good for 13th in the nation.

Player to watch: Allen, a point guard, has been the primary reason why Virginia Tech has thrived at the line. He’s taken 142 free throws this season, and has made 108 of those, including 50 of his past 61 (82 percent). He’s an awful 3-point shooter (28.3 percent), but his ability to generate scoring is why he’s been the catalyst for Virginia Tech in the past couple of games.

Published on February 1, 2016 at 10:35 am