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For Syracuse, Wednesday night was an opportunity. An opportunity to bounce back from a loss to Virginia, yes, but also an opportunity to pick up its best win of the season and boost a lagging NCAA Tournament resume.

Tonight, the Orange (11-6, 4-2 Atlantic Coast) took advantage of that opportunity. Jumped all over it, in fact. A 12-2 run early in the second half put them in control and they maintained their lead en route to an 82-72 win over Virginia Tech (11-6, 1-5 ACC). For the first time all season, they beat not just a top-100 KenPom team, but a top-50 one.

There was no doubt who the better team was in the final 20 minutes, with Joe Girard III (who scored 15 of his 24 points in the second half) drilling shot after shot, Jesse Edwards (13 points, nine rebounds) showing signs of a return to form and Syracuse getting solid contributions from Judah Mintz, Maliq Brown and Justin Taylor.

“I thought we played as well offensively as we’ve played all year,” head coach Jim Boeheim said postgame. “It was a really good effort against a good team.”

SU entered the night with bad losses (Colgate and Bryant) and few quality wins — going 0-4 against quadrant I or II teams. The Orange, now in the thicket of conference play, clearly need quality wins. A game at then-No. 11 Virginia on Saturday provided a chance for one, but Syracuse didn’t show up in the first half.

That made Wednesday’s game at home against a Virginia Tech team ranked No. 50 in the NCAA’s NET rankings especially important. The Hokies have four top-60 wins, including one over North Carolina, and were still a quadrant II opponent despite losing four straight coming into the night, a result of their impressive 11-1 start to the season.

Syracuse game planned its defense around VT’s perimeter shooting abilities. The 2-3 zone extended, with the Orange willing to give up 2-pointers, just not 3s, Edwards said. It forced the center to give space to whoever player Virginia Tech put at the free throw line so Syracuse’s guards could get out to shooters like Sean Pedulla, who ranks fifth in the ACC with over 17 points per game.

The strategy worked, with the Hokies shooting 16% from 3-point range, forced to run its offense through the paint. Justyn Mutts was the man at the free-throw line, and he attacked Edwards early, leading Boeheim to replace him with Mounir Hima. VT incorporated high-low action, too, with one play featuring Mutts making a nice pass to Lynn Kidd on the baseline, drawing the focus of SU’s wings, while Pedulla raced to the corner for a wide-open 3. He missed, embodying his off shooting night (3-for-15 from the field, 2-for-11 from beyond the arc).

Boeheim said it took SU too long to adjust and keep the ball out of the paint. The Orange led by six at halftime, but with the offense humming and the defense slowly improving, they pulled away early in the second half. Girard kicked off the spurt 44 seconds into the half with a jumper, and capped it off with a 3-pointer from the right wing minutes later, forcing a Virginia Tech timeout. The guard has now gone four straight games with at least 19 points, scoring 20-plus in three of them, and looked confident driving, pulling up or on catch-and-shoots.

“Joe was really good,” Boeheim said. “One of the best games I’ve seen him play here. He was really effective.”

Wednesday was also a chance for Syracuse to find a complimentary option for Girard. Edwards, the team’s third-leading scorer, posted a season-low four points against Virginia, unable to secure position inside.

The center said he’s been focusing in practice on working against double teams, looking for shooters and cutters before making his own move, and expected multiple, physical defenders entering the night. VT rarely sent double teams his way, and Syracuse took advantage, frequently feeding the center. Girard hit Edwards for a loud first-half alley-oop and Mintz fed him for an and-one layup moments later. The center finished with his most points since recording 20 against Georgetown a month ago. While Boeheim said Edwards still isn’t where “he was” at the start of the season, Wednesday was certainly a step forward.

Boeheim has also been looking for more production from his forwards, directing most of his criticism to starters Benny Williams and Chris Bell. Williams returned to the starting lineup Wednesday after missing the UVA game with an illness, but only played eight minutes, with just two in the second half.

Boeheim said Williams is trying to play from 15-18 feet out instead of near the basket, and despite having a good practice earlier in the week, isn’t shooting or rebounding well enough to earn starters’ minutes like Brown, who the coach said is doing what Syracuse needs him to do. Brown earned his first career double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds), grabbing five offensive rebounds and securing easy layups off feeds from Edwards.

“It’s huge. Just gives a whole new option,” Edwards said of Brown’s development. “I can shoot it, but I can just as well pass it like I did a couple times this game, and he’s gonna finish it, too.”

Taylor, meanwhile, found a shooting rhythm in the first half, hitting two 3s and another 2-pointer. He finished with 10 points in 29 minutes, mainly filling in for Bell, who totaled his fewest minutes since November 15 against Colgate. Bell left the game in the second half with a leg injury and said postgame he could’ve gone back in. When asked how he played, he said “ask the coaches.”

Trailing by as many as 22, the Hokies tried to get back in it, going on a 10-0 run midway through the half, but only got within 12 before Edwards spun and dished to Brown for a layup. The Orange didn’t handle the comeback as well as they should’ve, Boeheim said, but still won comfortably.

With Girard rolling, Edwards near his A-game and enough production from the wings, Syracuse proved to be a tough team to beat. Virginia Tech found that out, and upcoming games against Miami, North Carolina and Virginia — all over the next 19 days — provide a chance for the Orange to prove that to them, too.

And for a night perhaps, the NCAA Tournament didn’t seem so far out of reach. Beating quality teams surely didn’t, either. The Orange clicked, playing some of their best basketball over the final 20 minutes and the Hokies just couldn’t keep up.

Published on January 11, 2023 at 9:12 pm

Contact Connor: csmith49@syr.edu | @csmith17_