Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Syracuse defeated Notre Dame 88-85 for its second-straight Atlantic Coast Conference win Saturday. Though SU was up by 29 at one point in the first half — and even held a 49-29 advantage at halftime — the Fighting Irish mounted a furious comeback to draw within 86-83. But, it ultimately came up short.

In its final home contest of the regular season, Syracuse hosted Virginia Tech Tuesday in search of its first three-game win streak in over two months. The Orange jumped out to a 45-27 advantage at halftime and — aside from seeing their lead cut down to single-digits with a few minutes left — led comfortably for the remainder of the game.

Judah Mintz led all scorers with 29 points while Quadir Copeland and J.J. Starling added 12 and 13, respectively. SU finished with four players in double-digit scoring for the second consecutive outing and shot 56.7% from the floor.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (19-10, 10-8 ACC) 84-71 victory over Virginia Tech (15-13, 7-10 ACC):

Balanced scoring carries over

Kyle Cuffe Jr. picked up the loose ball in SU’s backcourt and tiptoed along the left sideline. Streaking downcourt, he avoided VT’s Sean Pedulla before converting on a hanging right-handed finish. A few minutes later, Cuffe Jr. splashed a right-wing 3 to cap off a personal five-point run.

In Syracuse’s last game against Notre Dame, all five of its starters finished in double-figure scoring. Mintz led the Orange with 21 points while Chris Bell added 18 on four 3-pointers. On Tuesday, balanced scoring persisted as seven players notched a basket.

Mintz, who had 16 at the break, scored on a handful of flashy layups while Copeland tallied eight points including a vicious two-handed slam in transition. Starling canned a few mid-range jumpers for six quick points as well. Overall, Syracuse shot 61.3% from the field and 33.3% from 3.

Though Bell started 1-of-4 from the field, the SU forward remained trigger-happy and swished home his first 3 from the left corner in the second half. Copeland continued aggressive straight-line drives and Mintz dropped through a high-arcing teardrop over Lynn Kidd to give Syracuse a 67-54 lead.

Holding possession near halfcourt, Copeland suddenly drove towards the basket which drew attention from VT’s defense. Then, at the last second, SU’s sixth man dumped a pass off to an unmarked Maliq Brown. Under the hoop without Kidd’s 6-foot-10 frame to bother any shot attempt, Brown flushed home an easy two-handed dunk to seal a convincing Syracuse win.

Rebounding woes persist

Poor rebounding has plagued Syracuse since the beginning of its 2023-24 campaign. In the Allstate Maui Invitational, Tennessee and Gonzaga out-rebounded Syracuse 48-33 and 28-28. Then, in SU’s first meeting with North Carolina on Jan. 13, it fell short on the boards by a 53-30 margin.

The issue reached a boiling point when Georgia Tech won the rebound battle in the meeting on Feb. 17 by a 49-28 deficit. Even in Syracuse’s most recent victory over Notre Dame it corralled 25 boards to the Fighting Irish’s 30.

Against Virginia Tech, the Orange led 18-11 on the glass after the opening half. Despite a thin frontcourt primarily featuring just two big men — 6-foot-8 Brown and 6-foot-11 Peter Carey — the pair did well to fend off VT’s Kidd and Mylyjael Poteat. But Syracuse’s early success quickly dissipated.

Brown wasn’t in foul trouble, and neither was Carey, but both seemed timid in retrieving defensive boards. Poor boxouts allowed Poteat a succession of uncontested put-backs. Ultimately, despite giving up a substantial lead in rebounds, Virginia Tech never capitalized. Syracuse ended up pulling down 31 rebounds to the Hokies’ 27 and had just one less offensive board.

A back-and-forth second half

Syracuse’s comfortable first half was a product of model interior defense and efficient inside scoring. The Orange jumped out to a once-18-point lead, feeding off of 16 points off turnovers and 40 in the paint. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, shot just 39.3%. Its leading scorer, Pedulla, started 0-for-2 and couldn’t find his stride.

Yet 13 minutes into the second half, the Hokies had closed the gap to 69-62 off of a Pedulla layup. Backup forward Tyler Nickel cashed in on a straight-on 3 shortly after to make it a 73-65 game.

Crossing back and forth at the top of the key, Mintz drove right and took Hunter Cattoor with him. Leaping forward once he entered the paint, Mintz drew contact mid-air and flung up a soft floater which trickled in to generate a 79-69 Syracuse cushion. And Virginia Tech was never able to complete the comeback.

Mintz wasn’t able to treat a raucous JMA Wireless Dome crowd with a basket in the remaining seconds but an offensive board gifted Starling possession near midcourt. He ultimately dribbled out the clock.

Published on February 27, 2024 at 9:11 pm

Contact Tyler: trschiff@syr.edu | @theTylerSchiff