BLACKSBURG, Va. — As Syracuse clung to a late lead against Virginia Tech last Saturday, five of the Orange’s final 11 points didn’t come from Buddy Boeheim or Elijah Hughes. Like most teams, the Hokies had adjusted to Syracuse’s guard-heavy scoring attack.

Hughes and Boeheim often had two sets of Virginia Tech eyes on them, leaving Marek Dolezaj and Quincy Guerrier space to score. They were simple plays — isolations or drives — that were open because VT’s defense was spread too thin. Without the points and rebounds from Syracuse’s role players down the stretch, Syracuse may have blown a lead for the second-straight time against the Hokies.

“Buddy got us off to a good start and they just face-guarded him,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. “We had some opportunities for Marek to get inside and we need to take better advantage of that but it’s hard.”

Dolezaj finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds, his second double-double in as many games, while Guerrier finished with five points and nine boards. Saturday’s win marked Syracuse’s fourth against a high-major opponent — three of which have come in the last 10 days. In each of those victories, Dolezaj’s grabbed nine or more rebounds. While Guerrier hasn’t had quite the same consistency in his freshman season, the additional focus opponents dedicate to Syracuse guards has created opportunities for both Syracuse (11-7, 4-3 Atlantic Coast) forwards. How those chances fall often decides outcomes.

“We’re flashing,” Guerrier said. “We’ve got more room to attack to the rim because everything is wide because they overplay the shooters.”

Roshan Fernandez | Asst. Digital Editor

The attention paid to Hughes, Syracuse’s main scorer, started on the very first play against Virginia Tech. When Dolezaj screened for him up top, the Hokies defender covering Dolezaj switched to Hughes. But Hughes’ initial defender didn’t give up on one of the ACC’s top scorers either.

With two gray jerseys trapping Hughes, the redshirt junior dished the ball back to Dolezaj. One more quick pass led to an easy Bourama Sidibe layup.

Hughes played decoy in a similar way later that game. With less than two minutes remaining, he drove down the right side of the paint toward the basket. Once Dolezaj’s man took a step toward Hughes in help defense, Hughes quickly dumped a pass to Dolezaj for a layup.

“We wanted to get Marek the ball in some of those situations down there and Marek was good down there,” Boeheim said.

Roshan Fernandez | Asst. Digital Editor

Following Buddy’s career day against the Hokies, including 18 consecutive points in the first half, Virginia Tech’s defense applied early pressure to him by face-guarding him off the ball. That limited help opportunities for the Hokies defense, and in turn it opened up layup opportunities and one-on-one situations for SU’s interior players.

With Buddy on the outside feeding Dolezaj in the post, the Slovakian forward had seemingly the whole shot clock to make his move. Buddy’s defender had to stay attached to him, especially after the run Buddy just went on.

With no help coming, Dolezaj backed his defender toward the basket and pivoted three times before scoring.

“They’re going to stay on Buddy, Joe (Girard III) and Elijah,” Dolezaj said. “You know they’re 40 percent three-point shooters. They have to stay on them. And if they stay on them it’s literally a one-on-one game with me and my defender.”

The same went for Guerrier. His first bucket came on an isolation play similar to Dolezaj’s: a drive from the wing while VT help defenders clung to their men around the perimeter. Though Guerrier would only score three additional points, he found other roles on the offensive end.

After Boston College four days earlier, Guerrier had said he needed to rebound better. Five rebounds needed to become eight or nine. And they did.

Five of Guerrier’s six first-half rebounds led to immediate points for Syracuse on the ensuing possession. After the only rebound that wasn’t immediately followed by a score, Guerrier stole the ball and passed to Buddy for a 3-pointer. His contributions weren’t always points like Dolezaj, but they still sparked Syracuse.

With just over five minutes remaining against the Hokies, Guerrier pump-faked from the corner of the 3-point line. As his defender flew through the air, Guerrier drove to the hoop. He sank his layup, drew a foul and made his free throw to complete the 3-point play.

Hughes would score the next possession and Buddy the possession after that. The pair would combine for more than half of the Orange’s total points by the time the final horn sounded. But Guerrier and Dolezaj, by doing the little things, have provided a balance the Syracuse offense often doesn’t have.

Published on January 21, 2020 at 11:21 pm

Contact Josh: jlschafe@syr.edu | @Schafer_44