Syracuse men’s basketball (7-8, 1-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) hits the road to face Boston College (9-6, 1-3 ACC) in a matchup of two ACC stragglers. Both teams are coming off games against Georgia Tech, but the outcomes were vastly different. The Orange outlasted the Yellow Jackets 62-55 to secure their first conference victory of the season. Meanwhile, BC was dismantled by GT 85-64 on January 4. Now, with a week off, the Eagles have an opportunity to reset with a win against Syracuse.
While @Cuse_MBB was trying to pull away, guard JJ Starling nailed the dagger to secure SU's first conference victory of the season.@GriffinMarcy1 described the junior's clutch bucket.
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) January 8, 2025
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Syracuse finally collected its first ACC win earlier this week after enduring its worst start to league play since 1968. That victory was fueled by the team’s best defensive performance of the season, as SU held Georgia Tech to just 55 points, the fewest allowed by the Orange this year.
“To get our first ACC win, you know, it’s important for us. We’ve dealt with different things, but these guys just keep fighting,” said SU head coach Adrian Autry.
The Orange now hope to carry that momentum into their matchup with the Eagles. Boston College averages just over 70 points per game, ranking 15th in the ACC. The Eagles are also coming off their third-lowest scoring performance of the season in their blowout loss to Georgia Tech.
The blueprint for an Orange victory on Saturday may have been outlined in the Eagles' loss to the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech limited BC’s leading scorer, Donald Hand Jr., to just six points—his lowest total of the season. When the sophomore is held to fewer than 15 points, BC is 4-4, compared to 6-1 when Hand Jr. surpasses the 15-point threshold. The Boston College guard could face off against Syracuse’s JJ Starling, who totaled 21 points against Georgia Tech, in stark contrast to Hand Jr. 's single-digit performance.
“The win, that’s all that matters. Forget the 21 points… the win is just what matters,” said Starling after the GT game.
Starling recently returned to the court after missing a month due to a broken hand, a stretch during which the Orange went 2-5.
“If you followed us through the stretch without him and now having him back, I think you can see the difference and how important he is,” said Autry.
The backcourt battle between Hand Jr. and Starling will be one to monitor in Chestnut Hill.
A win for Syracuse would mark its first road victory of the season and its first back-to-back wins since mid-November. Both teams are fighting for ACC positioning, which has taken on added significance after the league expanded to 18 teams. Starting this season, only the top 15 teams in the conference standings will qualify for the ACC tournament in March. As of now, neither Syracuse nor Boston College is comfortably in the field. WAER has you covered throughout the afternoon in Chestnut Hill. McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff hits the airwaves at 2:30. The Orange and Eagles get going shortly after at 3.