Syracuse’s return to Atlantic Coast Conference play started with a loss to Notre Dame. After a late layup and two free throws, a Joe Girard 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left wasn’t enough to erase the deficit. When Virginia Tech (10-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) comes to the Carrier Dome on Tuesday night at 9 p.m., SU (8-6, 1-2) looks to avoid a two-game losing streak.

Here’s what our beat writers think will happen when the Orange face the Hokies.

Nick Alvarez (12-2)
Hokey
Virginia Tech 77, Syracuse 68 

Syracuse’s matchup against Notre Dame served as a preview for what SU can expect Tuesday night against Virginia Tech. The Fighting Irish relied on 15 3s and key interior play down the stretch. While the Hokies don’t have a John Mooney, they do have the best 3-point shooting team in the ACC (37.9%). Virginia Tech is also coming off its worst shooting performance of the season against Virginia (4-of-25) and I doubt they go cold for a second-straight outing. The Orange can always shoot their way back into a game, but their defense will be the deciding factor. It’ll start with stopping Landers Nolley II (43% from 3) and end with limiting the Hokies’ five other competent shooters. In the end, though, SU’s 2-3 zone will crack, fatigue will play a factor and Virginia Tech will pull away.  

Michael McCleary (10-4)
Do the Hokey Pokey and you…
Syracuse 83, Virginia Tech 80

Oh, there will be tacos, alright. This will be a high-scoring game. Why? Three-point shooting battles usually are. That’s exactly what this game will be. Right now the Hokies are about 40 spots above the Orange in the NET Rankings. This is exactly the type of game the Orange need to win to revive their postseason hopes. The Notre Dame close finish showed that the Orange are on the brink of competing with fringe-ACC squads, and despite a ranking that says otherwise, I think Virginia Tech offers the Orange another shot at one. There’s a chance the Hokies don’t move the ball well enough or take enough chances to pace the Orange’s high-octane approach. Though it might be close, I’m thinking this close game falls to the way of the Orange. And if I’m right, it inches me closer to a victory in these predictions too.

Josh Schafer (11-3)
Turkey Day > Orange Day
Virginia Tech 82 Syracuse 76

The Hokies not only shoot the 3-pointer well (25th in the country) but also score 43% of their points from beyond the arc. In other words Virginia Tech is ready to shoot from one of the areas open in the 2-3 zone and that likely won’t bode well for Syracuse. On the flip side, the Hokies also allow a fair amount of 3-point shots and that could help Syracuse as well if the shots are falling. I’d expect this to be somewhat of similar matchup to Syracuse-Notre Dame only the Hokies don’t have John Mooney. So if Syracuse can score like they did on Saturday against the Fighting Irish, it’ll be close but we haven’t seen the Orange close out a tight game against a high-major opponent yet.

Published on January 7, 2020 at 4:52 pm