Virginia Tech at Syracuse

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The Hokies have lost six consecutive games against Syracuse and haven?t beaten the Orange since 1978. Tech?s last win in Syracuse came in 1976. ... Tech freshman guard Justin Bibbs retuned to the court for Saturday?s game at Wake Forest. He had missed the previous four contests with a concussion. Bibbs had 10 points in 20 minutes in the 73-70 loss. ... The Hokies won?t have senior guard Will Johnston tonight. Johnston had elbow surgery Monday.



Last month, Virginia Tech showed it could compete with Syracuse for a half. Now the Hokies are looking to do it for a full 40 minutes.
Tech plays at Syracuse tonight, a rematch of the Jan. 3 meeting in Blacksburg in which the Hokies outscored the Orange 43-26 in the second half, a rally that ultimately fell two points short. Tech lost 68-66, the second game of a seven-game losing streak.
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?We get off to a good start at Tech,? Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said Monday. ?And they made a great comeback in the second half. They did a lot of good things.?
Virginia Tech went 7 for 14 on 3-point attempts in that second half, getting 22 points from freshman guard Justin Bibbs, who was making his Atlantic Coast Conference debut.
?It was almost like two different teams,? Tech coach Buzz Williams said Monday.
Bibbs missed four games with a concussion before returning to the lineup for Saturday?s loss at Wake Forest. A second-half rally in that game also came up short for the Hokies (9-12, 1-7 ACC).

The Orange (14-7, 5-3) have lost back-to-back games and three of their past four. They haven?t played since Jan. 26, when they lost 93-83 at No. 13 North Carolina.

?We?re glad we had a week off,? Boeheim said. ?We needed the time to get rested.?
In the first meeting, Syracuse forward Rakeem Christmas and guard Trevor Cooney combined for 35 points.
?(They?re) as good as any pairing that there is,? Williams said. ?Just because Cooney can beat you however you allow him to beat you. He?s very smart. He can make shots, but his scouting report is much deeper than he?s just a shooter. He makes really good plays off the bounce. He makes plays for Christmas that allows him to be better.?


Christmas leads the ACC in scoring, averaging 18.4 points, and is fifth in rebounding, grabbing 9 boards per game. Cooney is ninth in the ACC in scoring, putting up 14.7 points per game.

For the undersized Hokies, who have only freshman Satchel Pierce as a true center on the roster, defending the 6-foot-9 Christmas is a sizable challenge. In the first meeting, Tech used a variety of defensive looks, fronting him to deny the ball and double-teaming him on the low block.

?Christmas is so good, you can?t give him the same look every time,? Williams said. ?I think he?s a pro. His game, his body, his development has been as good as any I remember for a big man in a longtime. He runs the floor probably as well as any big man that I?ve seen in my coaching career that we?ve had to compete against. So you can?t give him the same thing, especially with the guys we?re going to throw at him, because it?s not enough.?

Boeheim anticipates a similar defensive approach to his star post player tonight.
?I?m sure they?ll give him a lot of attention, double him, make it difficult for us to give him the ball,? Boeheim said. ?I?m sure they?ll give him a little extra attention.?

For the Hokies, senior guard Will Johnston had soft-tissue surgery on his elbow Monday and won?t make the trip to Syracuse. Williams said Johnston had a similar procedure earlier this season.

 

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Virginia Tech basketball team's chartered flight arrives in Syracuse after delays



The Virginia Tech basketball team had to wait out a couple delays, but the Hokies' chartered flight from Roanoke to Syracuse arrived at Hancock International Airport at approximately 4:30 p.m. Monday.

The Virginia Tech team flight had originally been expected to depart Roanoke around 12:30 p.m. with an arrival close to 2 p.m.

The flight was delayed due to the storm that dumped between 8 to 14 inches of snow over Central New York.

Virginia Tech and Syracuse will face each other at the Carrier Dome at 9 p.m. on Tuesday.

After arriving in Syracuse, the Hokies got in a late practice at the Carrier Dome.

 

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Boeheim: Syracuse?s 3-point defense must improve against Virginia Tech



The 3s have to stop. North Carolina made too many of them on Jan. 26, just like Virginia Tech did in the second half of Syracuse?s conference-season opener on Jan. 3 in Blacksburg, Virginia.

On Monday?s Atlantic Coast Conference coaches? teleconference, SU head coach Jim Boeheim said his Orange needs to improve on defending the perimeter when Syracuse (14-7, 5-3 ACC) hosts the Hokies (9-12, 1-7) at 9 p.m. on Tuesday in the Carrier Dome. Though VT sits second-to-last in the conference standings, Virginia Tech is strongest where many teams try to shoot SU?s 2-3 zone off the floor ? the 3-point line.

The Hokies shoot 38.6 percent from 3, which is better than No. 4 Duke and slightly worse than No. 3 Virginia.

?That?s always difficult to defend,? Boeheim said. ?When you have three or four guys that can shoot the ball at the three-point line like Virginia Tech can.?

VT has six players shooting 32 percent or better from 3-point range of players who have attempted at least 15 3-pointers. When even half of them are firing, the Hokies are dangerous. It?s partly why one of the conference?s worst team?s has only lost one ACC game by more than 15 points. That was against Notre Dame, one of the best shooting teams in the country.

Success from beyond the arc is largely how Virginia Tech all but came back from a 19-point halftime deficit against the Orange in January. The Hokies shot 7-for-14 ? 50 percent ? from 3 in the second half against SU, putting themselves a buzzer-beater away from completing the comeback.

Like many teams that try to shoot over the zone, though, VT lives and dies by the 3. The Hokies shot 3-for-11 from 3 in the first half of their first meeting with the Orange and had no answers on either end of the floor as a result.

And while UNC?s interior depth was a constant when Syracuse lost its last game, the Tar Heels? 9-for-16 shooting from three-point range kept them separated from the Orange down the stretch.

With a full week off since, Boeheim said his team has spent more time working on defense in practice, preparing for the 18.8 3s that VT puts up per game.

Said Boeheim: ?We have to do a much better job of defending the 3s against Virginia Tech.?