No. 5 Syracuse Preview

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We interrupt your previously scheduled hate week to bring you a little side dish of basketball. The Hokies take on No. 5 Syracuse at the Garden tonight. Here's a preview:

Who: Virginia Tech Hokies (3-0) vs No. 5 Syracuse Orange (4-0)

When: Wednesday, November 23 @ 9:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN2 (Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Doris Burke, Andy Katz)

Where: Madison Square Garden (19,544), New York, NY

The Opponent: After years of failing to reach the world’s greatest arena in the postseason NIT, the Hokies advance to MSG with wins over Monmouth and Florida International in this year’s preseason NIT. The prize? A meeting with one of the best teams in the nation, the Syracuse Orange.

Jim Boeheim’s squad has started off the season at 4-0, easily dispatching of Fordham, Albany, Manhattan, and Colgate, all by at least 24 points. The main reason for the success is the offense, as the Orange has scored 90 points in three of its four games. SU is balanced and obviously has a lot of talent and depth that can cause a lot of problems for their opponents.

Here’s a look at their starting lineup:

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG
11 Scoop Jardine G 6-2 194 R-Sr. 6.3 1.5
20 Brandon Triche G 6-4 205 Jr. 9.0 3.5
32 Kris Joseph F 6-7 215 Sr. 13.5 4.3
25 Rakeem Christmas F 6-9 228 Fr. 6.0 5.0
51 Fab Melo C 7-0 255 So. 6.8 5.3

The starting lineup is a bit deceptive as Syracuse’s top two scorers, James Southerland (6-8, 215, Jr) and Dion Waiters (6-4, 215, So) have come off the bench in the first four games. The Orange will use a 10-man rotation and all 10 average between 12 and 22 minutes per game. Some of that is due in part to the four blowouts, but all 10 players are legitimate threats.

The matchup problem for Tech will be Syracuse’s frontcourt. Kris Joseph and James Southerland are both averaging around 13 ppg and 4 rpg and have NBA potential. Joseph was put on the Naismith and Wooden Award watch lists prior to the season, a year after garnering third team All-Big East honors. Southerland is a lot like Dorian Finney-Smith in that he has the height to play down low but likes to play on the perimeter.

Up top, Scoop Jardine returns at point guard for his redshirt senior season and is averaging under four assists per game so far. Last year as the primary point guard, Jardine averaged about six assists per contest during his honorable mention All-Big East campaign. He’s joined in the backcourt by Brandon Triche who averaged 11 points as a sophomore last year. Reserve shooting guard Dion Waiters has gotten off to a great start this year, tying for the team lead with 13.8 ppg.

The Orange had a solid recruiting class this year, bringing in two McDonald’s All-American’s including Rakeem Christmas, who has started the first four games for SU. The other All-American was guard Michael Carter-Williams (6-5, 184, Fr), who’s come off the bench to average 4.0 ppg thus far.

Keys to VicTory:

  • Rebounding
    • To be frank, Syracuse has the better athletes and contains more skill at the post position. That’s part of the reason why there No. 5 in the nation. Now, that doesn’t mean Tech can’t come out and play well on the boards. In the upset of Duke last year, the Hokies handled themselves by getting offensive rebounds to offset a bad shooting night. If the Hokies want to pull off another stunner in what is essentially a road game, they’re going to have to attack the glass.
  • Transition Plays
    • Syracuse is renowned for its complex 2-3 zone that gives opponents fits. Tech hasn’t exactly played well against the zone in recent memory, which means they’re going to have to beat it down the floor. The Hokies have done a relatively good job of getting out in transition off opponents’ misses so far this season, but this is different competition. This is Tech’s best chance to get points on the board and to also get fouls on Syracuse’s big men who get caught in transition. Otherwise, they may be caught in the same trap that has made Jim Boeheim one of the most successful coaches of all-time.
  • Stay Out of Foul Trouble
    • The young Hokies have been extremely foul prone in early season action. Luckily, the lack of quality competition has saved Tech from ever being in real danger. Tonight, it won’t work that way. This is the first real road trip (despite the neutral court, this is like a Syracuse home game) and that’s going to play a big factor into it as well. Keeping composure and not committing stupid fouls is a really simple way to keep yourself in the game, even if the other team has superior talent. Smart basketball is a must if Tech wants to advance to the championship.

It’s rather difficult to make any real assumptions about either team just three or four games into the season. Syracuse is an extremely good team that has a chance to win the Big East this year and make a deep run in the tournament. For Tech, the freshman have their feet in the water, but now it’s time to take a dive into the deep end. Also, it sounds like Erick Green is going to play, but how well can he play and for how long? This is a true test for the Hokies to see how this season may unfold.

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