After winning its past three games, Syracuse (19-10, 10-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) is on the road for its second-to-last game of the regular season against Louisville (8-20, 3-14 ACC).
On Tuesday, the Orange welcomed Virginia Tech to the Dome for Senior Night. SU delivered one of its better performances in conference play in an 84-71 win. Guard Judah Mintz posted 29 points, a season-high in ACC competition. JJ Starling, Maliq Brown, and Quadir Copeland also added double-digit efforts.
The bank was open for Syracuse guard Judah Mintz. The sophomore had a tough make off the backboard while he was fouled.@bespector told the tale of the point guard's and-one.
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After the game, head coach Adrian Autry had only praise for Mintz.
“He's had a lot of big games and this is up there… he was phenomenal tonight. I just thought he had control of the game, I thought he took good shots, I thought he got people involved, he got back to making his free throws.”
Syracuse got some help on the glass, too. The Orange outrebounded the Hokies 31-27, which marked the first time since a loss to Florida State in January that SU collected more boards than its opponent. Brown, Starling, and Justin Taylor all had six or more rebounds on the night.
While the Orange went just 4-13 from beyond the arc, their overall shooting didn’t suffer. Coach Autry’s squad hit a 56% clip from the field, a double-digit improvement from its season average of 45%.
Syracuse forward Chris Bell went 0-for-3 from deep in the first half. The sharpshooter finally saw one fall early in the second frame.@bespector was on the mic for the sophomore's triple.
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“One thing that's telling is we shot 13 threes. That's about right for us, 13 to 15 threes that's about right for this team.” said Autry. “We would shoot more if Chris [Bell] is going or someone else is going but really I just thought our shot selection was superb.”
Tuesday’s win over the Hokies makes it easier for the Orange, but there is still work to do to get in position for the NCAA tournament. At the time of writing, Syracuse isn’t even mentioned on ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s bubble.
The first step in making the tourney is Saturday’s clash against Louisville. The two squads faced off in the Dome less than a month ago, with Syracuse pulling out a 94-92 win in a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair. Illinois transfer Skyy Clark dropped 23 points in that game, with three of his teammates finishing the night in double digits.
The Cardinals are in the middle of their worst stretch in school history, with just four conference wins over the past two seasons. However, don’t think for a second that Louisville doesn’t have talent on its roster. Forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield is a talented scorer with prowess on the glass and hasn’t dipped below double digits in a game since January.
In the backcourt for the Cardinals sit Tre White and Mike James. Both average 13 points per game, and bring speed into the UL offense.
The Orange currently sit at 82nd in the NET rankings and have just two Quad 1 wins to their name. (Pitt and North Carolina) Saturday’s game against Louisville presents a Quad 3 opportunity, with a final shot at a Q1 win on the road against Clemson next week.
Syracuse takes on Louisville on Saturday night. Catch all the action from the KFC Yum! Center on 88.3 FM at 8 p.m. with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff at 7:30 p.m.