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BLACKSBURG, Va. — Adrian Autry gave a stark warning to his team at halftime. Don’t turn the ball over.

It was the only way he felt Syracuse would give up its nine-point lead against Virginia Tech. It didn’t even take a single possession for the Orange to defy Autry’s warning.

Lucas Taylor initiated SU’s offense at the top of the key and was easily stripped by Tyler Johnson. Taylor’s turnover was before Syracuse even got into an offensive set. Johnson scored on the other end, cutting SU’s nine-point halftime lead to five.

The next time down the floor, Eddie Lampkin Jr. received a pass right in front of Syracuse’s bench. Lampkin dominated the first half. He scored 14 points in just 13 minutes. No matter what coverage Virginia Tech had, it didn’t prevent him from establishing deep post positioning every time he touched the ball.

With Syracuse needing a basket to quell Virginia Tech’s early momentum, it went to Lampkin. Though this time, he was pushed further out from the paint and feeling a double-team coming, he decided to whip a pass to a wide-open Chris Bell in the corner. What Lampkin didn’t see was Brandon Rechsteiner reading his eyes, easily picking off the ball before it even got close to Bell.

The back-to-back turnovers were a precursor for Syracuse’s (12-17, 6-12 Atlantic Coast) disastrous second half against Virginia Tech (13-16, 8-10 Atlantic Coast), where it fell 101-95 in overtime. The Orange capitulated down the stretch. After just four turnovers in the first half, they finished with 14, while their carelessness ultimately led to their downfall.

“That’s what got them back into the game,” Autry said of the turnovers.

Sloppiness wasn’t a problem in the first 20 minutes for Syracuse. It played clean basketball and executed its offensive game plan of getting the ball to Lampkin and Jyáre Davis. The frontcourt duo dominated their matchups; whether it was Ben Burnham or Mylyjael Poteat, it didn’t matter. They combined for 24 points, helping Syracuse score 47, tying its best offensive output for a first half all season.

For Autry, SU’s first-half execution was part of the reason why he felt frustrated postgame. He said the Orange started the game with good intentions, carrying over their momentum from their win over NC State on Wednesday.

Despite turning the ball over 10 times, they held the Wolfpack to zero points in transition. A video posted on social media afterward showed Autry smiling as he drew “0 fast break points” on a whiteboard in Syracuse’s locker room. He thanked his team for its effort in that department afterward.

The same couldn’t be said Saturday. Virginia Tech had 13 fast-break points and scored 22 points off Syracuse’s turnovers. Autry said allowing the Hokies to score easy baskets was another crucial part of Syracuse’s collapse.

The second half played out exactly how Autry didn’t want it to. Bell pump-faked from the 3-point line. Before he could rise up for a mid-range jumper, he was stripped by Burnham, leading to a Jaden Schutt 3-pointer, cutting Syracuse’s lead down to 54-50.

Syracuse’s early turnovers spelled trouble, though it did build its lead back to 13 with 11 minutes remaining. At that point, the Orange looked to be cruising to a win. The sloppiness returned soon after. After a successful first half of paint dominance — where Syracuse outscored VT 28-14 — it couldn’t get the ball down low with as much ease. Lampkin was held scoreless after halftime and gave the ball away three times.

Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young didn’t point to any major schematic changes he made postgame. He said Virginia Tech was just trying to push Lampkin further away from the paint, while most of Syracuse’s turnovers came down to having ball-handling issues.

J.J. Starling specifically had a rough go of it. He had the ball poked away a couple of times, trying to maneuver his way into the paint. Starling’s second turnover was the most costly. Ben Hammond ripped the ball away from SU’s point guard, which ended in an and-one opportunity for Johnson. Johnson’s layup with 4:42 remaining tied the game at 70. It was the first time since the opening two minutes that Virginia Tech was level.

“When we try to put the ball on the floor and drive, if someone’s in the gap, we have to get rid of it,” Autry said.

Typically, Starling is Syracuse’s most sure-handed ball handler. He’s often trusted with the ball in his hands at the end of games, and if Syracuse needs to quiet an opponent’s run, it goes to him. Saturday, he couldn’t slow things down for SU when it was needed, and its live-ball turnovers compounded.

“Coach said he’d rather us throw the ball out of bounds rather than having live ball turnovers,” Syracuse point guard Jaquan Carlos said.

There wasn’t a singular giveaway that cost Syracuse the game. It was each of them stacking on top of each other. It allowed Virginia Tech to steal the momentum that Syracuse once had a firm grip on, and it’s why the Orange are still searching for their first winning streak since January.

Published on March 1, 2025 at 6:32 pm

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