Syracuse Men's Basketball watches victory slip away in a 76-74 loss to Virginia Tech

Syracuse men’s basketball (12-7, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) let a halftime lead evaporate in a 76-74 loss to Virginia Tech (15-5, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). SU was outscored 46 to 37 after the break marking the ninth time this season the Orange have lost the second half.

The Orange jogged to the locker room with a seven-point lead, but their edge would begin to dull upon return for the second half. VT outscored Syracuse 16-8 in the opening nine minutes of the second half through a string of Orange errors.

After Syracuse committed five turnovers in the first half, SU coughed the ball up nine times in the second. Virginia Tech capitalized on ‘Cuse’s disarray, turning those turnovers into 16 points. The Hokies also breezed past the Orange in transition, cashing in 19 fast-break points in the second half – more than triple their first half total of six.

After the game, when asked about SU’s second half woes, Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry admitted he’s still hunting for the answer.

“It’s still something we’re trying to figure out,” Autry said. We’ve got to be able to get to the finish line.”

The box score spoke for SU’s second half crash, but it was punctuated by a massive late-game mishap:

With six seconds to play and Virginia Tech leading 74-71, Hokies guard Neoklis Avdalas missed a free throw to extend VT’s lead to two possessions. Syracuse stuffed the box with four players in the paint, Virginia Tech brought just one in forward Tobi Lawal. Through a sea of Orange, it was Lawal who came down with the rock, icing the game.

SU head coach Adrian Autry was livid.

“The inability to get the important rebounds to give us a chance, I just thought that was the difference... We get another chance and we walk under the f****** rim and we don't get the rebound,” Autry said.

But one thing was constant for the Orange throughout the whole evening: no one caught fire. Even though five Syracuse players finished in double figures, Tyler Betsey led the way with a modest 12 points.

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The other four double-digit scorers were all starters, including SU’s number one option, forward Donnie Freeman. The sophomore posts over 20 points per game. But against the Hokies, Freeman finished with a trudging ten points on 3-14 (21%) shooting from the field – the least efficient night of his career. Aside from his nine rebounds, Freeman did lead his Orange in one other stat: turnovers, with four.

While it’s easy to pin many of SU’s losses this year on the coaching staff, SU forward William Kyle believes he and his teammates could be contributing more.

"I feel like we need to be real with ourselves. I know a lot of the stuff falls on the coaching staff, but we need to be better as players too...the coach can't pass the ball for us, the coach can't make free throws, the coach can't rebound for us...we're not rising to the occasion right now. We're playing at a very low level.”

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The quad three loss makes SU’s argument for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid even more difficult. It also puts more pressure on the next month of play, a bloodbath for the Orange. Four of SU’s seven conference matchups in February are against AP Top 25 opponents.

But before the calendar turns, the Orange host Miami on Saturday. The Hurricanes come into the JMA Wireless Dome on a two-game skid, their first conjoined losses of the season. The Orange can earn its first conference win in nearly two weeks or lose their third straight game for the first time since the Players Era tournament in November.

Syracuse and Miami are set to tip off on Saturday at 2 p.m. Join us for all our coverage with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff at 1:30 p.m. right here on WAER.