Beat writers split if SU can hand Virginia Tech its 5th-straight loss

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Syracuse was close, but couldn’t close out on the road against No. 11 Virginia, falling to 10-6 and dropping its second Atlantic Coast Conference game in the last four opportunities. Though the Orange have had bright spots — a stellar freshman campaign from Judah Mintz — troubling defense and poor play from the forwards, especially when Jesse Edwards isn’t playing at his double-double pace, have hindered SU.

Now, it’ll take on Virginia Tech at home for the first of two home conference games this week. The Hokies started strong, losing just one of their first 12 games, but have since fallen off and are on a four-game losing streak.

Here’s what our beat writers expect to happen on Wednesday: 

Anish Vasudevan (13-3) 
Turning point
Syracuse 76, Virginia Tech 72

Syracuse is catching Virginia Tech at the perfect time. The Hokies have dropped four-straight games, a streak which started with a five-point loss against Boston College, one of the weakest ACC teams. VT hasn’t won a conference game in over a month and that’s most likely not going to change against SU. The Orange have struggled recently, but they’ve had some momentum from the ending of their contest against Virginia and still won seven of their last nine games. 

The Hokies rarely go to their bench as well, meaning that Syracuse should be able to tire out Virginia Tech’s core through its rotations during the course of the night. Meanwhile, SU can get some key contributions from players like John Bol Ajak and others on its bench. Maliq Brown showed how he can be plugged into the lineup as well, finishing with 10 points and eight boards against the Cavaliers. This is the time for Syracuse to string together some conference wins. It has the capacity to beat VT, defeat Notre Dame again and surprise a talented Miami team.  

Connor Smith (14-2)
Turkey dinner
Syracuse 71, Virginia Tech 65

On paper, Virginia Tech is the better team in this game. The Hokies are 11-5 and have a couple of impressive wins, including ones over North Carolina and Oklahoma State. But four-straight losses — all in conference play — have sent VT’s season into a nosedive. Granted, they’ve all been by five points or less. But in any case, this team is reeling.

As Anish said, this is the perfect chance for Syracuse to get its season moving. The Orange need quality wins to get into the NCAA Tournament conversation, and a Quadrant II win over a struggling Virginia Tech team would be a good starting point, with Quadrant I games against Miami, North Carolina and Duke all looming. This is also a solid matchup for SU, with VT a middling team from beyond the arc and lacking any regular contributors who knock down more than 40% of their 3-point attempts. The Hokies aren’t a great offensive rebounding team and Syracuse should have a chance to win the rebounding battle for the second-straight game. If Brown and Edwards can post strong games, I see the Orange pulling out a huge home win. 

Anthony Alandt (12-4) 
Can’t close out
Virginia Tech 76, Syracuse 71

The Orange were really close to taking down No. 11 Virginia on the road, a Quadrant I win that would have catapulted Syracuse into the conversation as a fringe NCAA Tournament team midway through the season. But the same mistakes — a lack of rebounding and turnovers — that have continued to hurt the Orange throughout this season persisted, ultimately leading to a six-point loss to the Cavaliers.

While the Hokies are sliding, Syracuse is just a few bad possessions each game away from having a much worse record both overall and in the ACC. Against Virginia Tech, I expect some of the same poor trends to continue, frustrating the Orange as they fall to .500 in conference play with a close loss. It’s going to be a game of what ifs, likely hinging on the back of whether or not Edwards and Joe Girard III can take care of business. I don’t expect that to happen, and the Orange will take the loss and hope to rebound on Saturday against Notre Dame.