Syracuse breathed extra life into its Atlantic Coast Conference tournament hopes with a win over NC State this week and looks to keep those chances alive Saturday when it visits Virginia Tech at Blacksburg, Va.
The Orange (12-16, 6-11 ACC) ended a three-game losing streak with their victory over NC State, and now face the Hokies (12-16, 7-10), who nearly stunned No. 19 Louisville on Tuesday before falling 71-66.
Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry said he is proud of how his team keeps battling.
“They have no quit in them,” Autry said. “That’s what you want. We are still playing for us and nobody else.”
Autry is hopeful the Orange can find their way into the tourney.
“We want to be in the ACC tournament, because at the end of the day, we feel like we can still play some basketball,” he said. “If you start breaking down games, we were in a lot of games, lost a lot of games we had control of. We feel confident. At the end of the day, we have to get ready for our next opponent.”
On senior day, the Hokies hope to do a better job of taking care of the ball than they did against Louisville. That’s something that frustrated head coach Mike Young, though he likes the way his team competes.
“Twenty-two turnovers. It’s miserable,” Young said. “Having said that, I’m elated with the team’s competitive spirit.”
Turnovers have been an issue for both teams, with Virginia Tech averaging 13.1 per game and the Orange averaging 12.4. The 22 turnovers were a season high for the Hokies.
J.J. Starling scored 17 points in Wednesday’s win and is pouring in 18.4 points per outing on the season, good enough for fifth in the ACC. Eddie Lampkin continues to be a force in the paint and is coming off his 12th double-double (14 points, 15 rebounds) of the season.
For Virginia Tech, which has dropped three of its last four and is on the brink of its first losing campaign in a decade, Tobi Lawal will need to step up. He’s averaging a team-best 12.5 points per game but was held to two points on 1-of-4 shooting against the Cardinals.
–Field Level Media
