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Kadary Richmond drove into the paint, spun around a pair of Virginia Tech defenders and elevated near the right block. His layup with under seven minutes left extended Syracuse’s lead back to 19, continuing a stretch where the Orange continually multiplied a three-point lead.

It marked SU’s first win over a ranked opponent this season — Rutgers won back in December — and gave the Orange a much-needed boost to its resume with so few ranked teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference. 

Here are three takeaways from the Orange’s blowout, 78-60 win:

Living inside 

When Syracuse blew double-digit leads against Pittsburgh and Georgetown in the second half, mirroring those collapses were poor shot selections. Three-pointers that didn’t fall. Settled jumpers instead of drives to the basket.

But against Virginia Tech, SU’s first made 3-pointer didn’t come until Buddy Boeheim hit one in the final minutes of the half. SU attempted just six in the first 20 minutes and seven in the final 20. The Orange nearly finished with zero 3s in a half for the first time since the NCAA Tournament against Michigan State in 2018.

Leading that push was Marek Dolezaj, who finished with 18 points and continually drove inside. He forced two of Virginia Tech’s post players into foul trouble with four fouls, and he opened up opportunities for Quincy Guerrier on the blocks, too.

“The last game, we made a bunch of shots from the perimeter and won,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. “And this game we got it inside and made a bunch of shots in there and got to the foul line.”

Alleyne’s hot start, then nothing

On Virginia Tech’s first possession, Keve Aluma and Justyn Mutts flashed into the high post, sprinting up from the blocks with their arms outstretched. The ball eventually cycled to Aluma as the shot clock wound down, and he passed to Alleyne on the right win — hitting the Hokies’ first basket of the game from 3.

Similar sequences continued through the opening 10 minutes. The Hokies attacked the high post, Nahiem Alleyne hit four 3-pointers. And that presented a formula for them to consistently open, and defeat, the 2-3 zone.

Alleyne scored 12 of the Hokies’ first 13 points, but in the second half, Syracuse tightened the gaps in its zone defense and prevented Virginia Tech from using that high-post position inside. He scored just eight points the rest of the game, including only one 3-pointer.

“The last two games, we practiced a lot of defense and we stepped up more on defense,” Dolezaj said postgame. “Offense will come, we just need to stop people.” 

Griffin’s balanced game

Alan Griffin has, at times, lost minutes to other players off the bench in Syracuse’s rotation this season. Against Miami on Tuesday, he played just 16 minutes — his fewest this season by eight minutes — and scored only five points.

“The reason Alan was out for so long was he’s stopping the ball and he’s dribbling and shooting step-backs,” Boeheim said after the Orange defeated Miami. “We need more movement on offense. That’s what’s good for our team.”

Four days later, his all-around game sparked Syracuse’s offense and defense, creating opportunities for offensive rebounds, steals and other baskets inside. Griffin finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, seven blocks and two steals.

Early in the first half, Griffin charged in on two offensive rebound opportunities and finished on both of them. On the first, he finished a layup and drew a foul. On the second, he elevated over a Virginia Tech defender and finished a dunk.

He hit one of Syracuse’s four 3-pointers, a shot from the top of the key, and hit, possessions later, a step-back jumper to start the burst that allowed SU to pull away in the second half.

Published on January 23, 2021 at 2:12 pm

Contact Andrew: arcrane@syr.edu | @CraneAndrew