Despite leading by seven at halftime against Virginia Tech (15-5, 4-3 ACC), Syracuse basketball (12-7, 3-3 ACC) went ice cold in the second half, getting outscored 46-37 for a 76-74 loss.
Coming off a disappointing performance on Saturday against Boston College, Wednesday’s matchup was an opportunity for the Orange to get back on track and reignite their NCAA tournament push.
The Orange were hot from behind the arc to start the contest, hitting 7-12 threes in the opening frame, helping lead to a 10-point lead with around 11:30 left. Five Syracuse players hit a three-pointer in the first half, with Nate Kingz setting the tone, hitting 3 three-pointers, and finishing with 11 points, 2 rebounds, and steals. JJ Starling finished the day with 12 points and 3 assists, with Sadiq White also contributing with 11 points and 3 rebounds.
The second half was a different story, as the Orange were plagued by turnovers and fouls, committing a season-high 28 fouls, with two players fouling out.
“I think we got caught in some bad rotations and bad closeouts,” head coach Adrian Autry said. “They got in there and played off of two feet. We never really got back in front to make a contest.”
The Hokies shot 26-36 on free throws, compared to just 12-14 for Syracuse. 14 total turnovers for the Orange lead to many fastbreak opportunities for Virginia Tech, contributing to foul opportunities and free throws for the majority of the second half.
“We have to take care of the basketball,” Autry said. “These were just careless turnovers. It had nothing to do with a difficult set or anything; we just didn’t take care of the ball.”
Despite five players finishing with double-digit points, the Orange also had very little offensive production, with no player tallying more than 12 points. The team shot a combined 43% from the field, with Donnie Freeman finishing with just 10 points on 3-14 shooting.
“He may have been off offensively, but I feel like we still put ourselves in position to win the game,” William Kyle said. “The weight doesn’t fall on Donnie because he didn’t have his best game. We didn’t make the plays we needed to win the game.”
Despite trailing by 9 with a minute left, the Orange rallied to cut the lead to just 3 with the ball. Nate Kingz missed a good look with seconds remaining to potentially tie the game.
“That was a play that we work on in practice a lot,” Kingz said. “Got a perfectly wide-open shot and just couldn’t get it to fall.”
Virginia Tech guard Ben Hammond led all scorers on Wednesday night with 24 points, along with 4 assists and 6 steals.
Syracuse basketball now turns its attention to the next stretch of ACC play, knowing this was a missed opportunity at home. The Orange showed they were capable of building a lead and competing for 40 minutes, but late-game execution and lack of discipline ultimately decided the outcome.
Small lapses continue to make a huge difference, and Syracuse will need to tighten those margins moving forward if they want any chance at an NCAA tournament berth, and that starts when Miami travels to the JMA Wireless Dome at 2 p.m. on Saturday.