BUZZKETBALL CENTRAL: Virginia Tech Hokies (11-2) at Syracuse Orangemen (11-2) 6 PM 31DEC ESPNU

The #Hokies are getting up some shots in the #CarrierDome. @HokiesMBB vs. @Cuse_MBB at 6 pm Sunday night on @ESPNU pic.twitter.com/4PwwViniNh— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 31, 2017

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Dec. 31, 2017 / 6 p.m.
Opponent: Syracuse University
Site: Syracuse, New York (Carrier Dome)
Radio: Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Talent: Jon Laaser and Mike Burnop
TV: ESPNU
Talent: Anish Shroff & Cory Alexander
Live Stats: HokieSports.com
Game Notes: Virginia Tech
SIRIUS/XM: SIRI Internet 955

Heading into @accmbb play we're shooting lights out 🔥🏀#getBETTER pic.twitter.com/OssCTZteEN— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 29, 2017

Dome Zone

Hokies fans, Tech hopefully gets off the bus today ready to play like they are capable of rather than some of the sluggish results the last few games. The Hokies need to finish the year on a high note by starting out ACC play with a win. Tonight will be no easy task as the Hokies have to go into the Carrier Dome and take on the Orangemen. Syracuse comes in winners of five out of their last six games, with only a surprising loss to St Bonaventure in that stretch. The Orange have struggled much like the Hokies since a loss to a top team. Tech had Kentucky while the Orange ran into Kansas. Since then the Orange really haven't had a dominant win struggling with the likes of Eastern Michigan, St Bonaventure, and Buffalo.

Syracuse come in 11-2 on the year heading into this opening ACC Clash. Syracuse started out the season 6-0 with wins over Cornell, Iona, Texas Southern, Oakland, Toledo, and Maryland. These six games went much as expected with big margins over all but a one basket win over Maryland. Then came the loss to Kansas, followed by wins over UConn, Colgate and Georgetown. Then the struggles of the holidays set in with those games mentioned above.

The Orange are coached by Jim Boeheim, who took over the program in 1976 and while it looked like his time was coming to an end a few seasons ago after NCAA sanctions came down but he managed to work his way around those. This is Boeheim's only head coaching job which has seen him lead the Orange to a 912-354 record, which does not include the 101 wins vacated as part of the NCAA sanctions. He has coached the Orange to 32 NCAA Tournament appearances with one National Championship, as well as 7 NIT appearances including last season when the Orange struggled to a 19-16 finish. This is the 12th meeting between the Hokies and Syracuse. Syracuse leads the series 8-3, and is 5-1 at the Carrier Dome against the Hokies.

Defensively, the Orange focus is Boeheim's noted 2-3 Zone defense. This defense has allowed the Orange to hold opponents under 33% from the perimeter and just 38% overall this season. They are allowing opponents only 62.7 PPG, good for 21st in the Nation. One area of weakness is that they have allowed the 297th amount of assists to opponents this season at over 16 per game. Considering how well the Hokies assist on shots at 19 per game or 21st nationally this could be a deciding factor in this game. The Orange also foul opponents at over 16 per game but do not seem to commit many shooting fouls as opponents have only managed 16 attempts per game.

Offensively, the Orange are dangerous on the inside employing four players 6'8 or taller in their top six rotation. They shoot 43% overall, 48% inside but a dreadful 30% from outside. They are turning the ball over only 11 times per game. Boeheim employs what he calls a zone offense. He focuses most of his team's efforts on how to attack different formation of zone defense. His teams focus on offensive principles that include strong ball movement, skip passes, lob passes, when and how to attack gaps, short corner, screening, overloads, high/low action and isolation opportunities.

His teams seem to struggle with up tempo pace of play as they work to extend possession, especially in regards offensive rebounding where they are 11th in the nation at over 15 per game.

Three players account for 85% of the Orange's three point attempts and the results havent been good. Battle, Howard and Brissett are the root of a troubling spot for this offense that is only making 5.5 triples per contest. This season one of the biggest struggles on offense has been lack of movement without the ball. Too often this season, players have become statuesque, making defending the Orange that much easier.

What does that mean for the Hokies?

The Hokies should come out trying to speed up the tempo of this game. Syracuse struggles to go fast on both ends of the floor and work to bog down play. Opponents 25 attempts from the perimeter per contest works in the Hokies favor if they are able to find their shot. The Orange are fairly strong defensively against the perimeter shot but have not faced a team that shoots from outside like the Hokies are capable of.

The Hokies need to wash away the struggles of the last few contests and realize that these are now the games that count the most. A renewed focus needs to be evident when they open against the Orange.

This game is the first where they will face multiple quality big men so speed and athleticism versus size and strength. The Hokies will need to avoid early foul trouble, especially Blackshear and Clarke so that they are able to close out the contest with all their key parts on the court rather than the bench.

Orange Backcourt

Sophomore Tyus Battle, #25, 6'6, 205 Lbs, considered going pro after last season but decided to return. It was a good decision and he leads the team in scoring at 20.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, and 1.7 SPG. He shoots 48% from inside the arc, 34% from outside and 84% from the line. He leads the team in perimeter shots, taking almost 7 per contest.

Junior Franklin Howard, #23, 6'4, 170 lbs is averaging 15.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 6.2 APG, and 2.3 SPG. He is hitting 31% of his shots outside, inside he is shooting 46% but shoots 69% from the line.

These two are averaging over 37 minutes per game so there isn't much room left for additional guard play.

Senior Geno Thorpe, #30, 6'3, 180 lbs had accounted for most of those minutes left to guards. He was putting up 6 PPG, 1 RPG and 1 APG. Thorpe decided after struggling with an injury and playing time to leave the program earlier this month.

Orange Frontcourt

Oshae Brissett, #11, 6'8, 210 lbs. Freshman Forward provides 15.2 PPG, 10 RPG, 1.2 APG, and 1.1 SPG while shooting 37% from inside. He shoots an even more dreadful 28% from outside on almost 4 attempts per game so Blackshear and Horne may want to let him if he chooses to shoot out there. He is shooting 78% from the line. Brissett is playing more than 37 minutes a game much like the two guards. These three account for over 70% of the Orange scoring, so foul trouble for any of these three would be significant as the bench depth is rather sparse.

Junior Paschal Chuckwu, #13, 7'2, 226 Lbs, will be one of the taller players the Hokies go up against this season. He is averaging 5.8 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 3.3 BPG in about 25 minutes of play. His shooting inside is at 64% and from the line at 56%. Having two bigs combine for over 16 rebounds per game is certainly a challenge for any opponent the Orange will face.

Freshman Forward Bourama Sidibe, #35, 6'10, 205 lbs was expected to play a bigger role this season but was injured and may not return this season. He was putting up 3.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 1 BPG in about 15 minutes per contest. The biggest loss is that there seemed to be a developing connection between Battle and Sidibe in terms of High-Low scoring.

What to expect from the Orange?

Syracuse will work itself inside a majority of their possessions as they only attempt 18 three pointers per contest and are only hitting 30% of those on top of the low attempts. The Orange have the size that could prove troublesome for the Hokies down low. Expect to see quite a bit of pick and roll offensive possessions between Battle and Brissett.

Do not expect to see much other than the standard 2-3 zone from the Orange unless the Hokies really start to heat up from the outside. The Orange find success when they are able to disrupt passing lanes to increase their scoring opportunities.

Syracuse' ability to bring down offensive rebounds about equals out their struggles turning the ball over in terms of possessions and shots each game.

The Hokies

The Hokies should focus on clean execution of their game plan. They are going up against a team that seems to struggle against assisted shooting, aggressive defense, and transition baskets allowed. This is the ACC so no more paddy cake opponents. The Hokies have to come out and play 40 minutes of basketball.

Tech will need to be able to get outside position on the interior players and prevent the lob pass into the paint as well as provide good backside help defense. This will be critical to slowing the Orange scoring inside.

Cassell being empty is a struggle, if the Orange fail to pack the house than it's a tomb like environment as the Carrier Dome dwarfs Cassell with its basic attendance max of 33,000 seats. This could test the focus and energy of this team as they seem to feed off a packed house and the first game at Madison Square Garden had a remarkably small crowd. Fortunately the snow was light in Syracuse and they average about 25,000 in attendance so that will help. Buzz really has to find a way to get this team ready for tip off.

The Hokies have to find a way to hit their shots. It's what makes this team go, because they have struggled to find extra possessions all season, allowing way too many turnovers and not much in the way of offensive rebounding.

Depending on how interior play is going the Hokies may be forced to put Blackshear and Horne on the floor together, which would be an interesting tandem to see work together, especially underneath for rebounds. If this happens though, perimeter shooting will become even more critical.

Highlight of the NC A&T Game

Balanced attack paces #Hokies 🦃 past NC A&T, 79-56📰 » https://t.co/B42ADSDtOB🎟 » https://t.co/tcHFNaBSA4 pic.twitter.com/9wzYsXEWnx— VT Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 28, 2017

Highlight of the game goes to Hill and Horne. Hill put up 14 points on 4-7 perimeter shooting. Horne scored 10 and grabbed 4 rebounds in only 15 minutes.

In Closing

Syracuse will honor a member of their staff that lost her battle with cancer recently. You will see patches with a heart and K to memorialize Kelly Seubert.

Our team is going to honor Kelly Seubert by wearing a commemorative patch on our uniform starting Sunday. Kelly was an integral part of our staff for 13 years, up until she lost a courageous battle with cancer in August. A day does not go by without us missing Kelly. pic.twitter.com/XlcqvR9ify— Jim Boeheim (@therealboeheim) December 29, 2017

The Orange will try to make this game about interior play and get the Hokies in foul trouble. Tech has to find ways to insert some pace and keep Syracuse off balance.

All the Hokies need to come ready to play, much like the first half of the Kentucky game, only they need to make it last a full forty minutes. The opponent is strong, the arena is imposing, and its conference play. It's going to be interesting to see how several of these key players react to their first ACC game. Walker-Alexander, Jackson, Bede, and Horne along with Fullard and Ammerman will all be ready for their first conference play.

This Hokies should be able to win this game, especially if the Orange struggles to adjust after a few players have come out of their rotation due to injury or departure. The game is away but the Hokies showed at Rupp that they can play big on the road, and hopefully they come out with a chip on their shoulder.

Hokies 77 – Orange 71

Blame destroys your future. Your future begins when you own your past.#WednesdayWisdom #getBETTER pic.twitter.com/rZuib8vJqK— Buzz Williams (@TeamCoachBuzz) December 27, 2017

Around the ACC

Boston College started out conference play by beating #1 Duke
#4 Duke needed 100 to beat #24 Florida State 100-93.
#9 UVA barely escapes Boston College 59-58.
#13 UNC had their hands full with Wake Forest 73-69.
#15 Miami easily dispatched Pitt 67-53
Notre Dame beat Georgia Tech 68-59
Clemson is surprisingly 12-1 after it crushed NC State 78-62

ACC Overall Records:

Duke is 13-1
Clemson, UVA and Miami are all 12-1
UNC is 12-2
Tech, Florida State, and Syracuse are 11-2
Notre Dame is 11-3
Louisville is 10-3
Boston College and NC State are 10-4
Pitt is 8-6
Wake Forest is 7-6
Georgia Tech is 6-7