Can the Orange avoid a letdown?
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
The Syracuse Orange (16-9, 7-7) look to build off the momentum from knocking off North Carolina when the travel to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-15, 3-11). Georgia Tech has home wins over UNC and Duke this season so it’s not an easy place to win.
Tip-off is at 5:30 on the CW and here’s what we’re watching for on the premiere college basketball network:
Kevin: Patience on offense
Syracuse was so much better with the ball against the Tar Heels. The Orange had a lot of unassisted baskets, but they were moving and using screens as opposed to playing in isolation. Can they keep up this approach on the road? If they can be patient and take good shots, they can grab a road win.
Mike: J.J. leading the way
The real J.J. Starling arrived one month ago and is here to stay. The NY native knocked down some extremely important shots in the upset of the year and when the game is on the line, I want the ball in his hands from now on. No disrespect at all to Judah Mintz, whose play in the paint is vital in its own right, but if the Yellow Jackets start going on a run, he should be drawing pressure and dishing the ball out to J.J. for the knockdown.
Finn: Active Hands (Again)
This Georgia Tech team is dangerous, but also has a tendency of lulling to sleep for long periods on offense. In some of these long, drawn-out possessions, the Orange will have chances to get close to their men or even double up on some occasions. The active hands and propensity for steals and deflections have been a hallmark for the Orange this season. If they can repeat with this intensity and commitment, a few fast break buckets should be all the Orange needs to s(t)eal a win.
Max: Take advantage of subpar defense
Georgia Tech’s defense isn’t particularly daunting with one of the lowest steal rates in the country. SU’s offense has taken great care of the rock recently, committing just eight turnovers in each of its last two games. These trends need to continue if the Orange want to come out of Atlanta with a win. We can’t expect Syracuse to shoot 62.5% from the field like it did against UNC, but maintaining possession will lead to more shots and opportunities against the Yellow Jackets.
Dom: Avoid foul trouble at all costs
The main praise from Syracuse’s win over #7 North Carolina — even with a limited rotation that’s pretty much down to seven players, the Orange as a whole played smart defense and avoided the “frustration fouls.” North Carolina held several chances to go on a scoring run to blow the game open, but Syracuse had the active hands to break up passing lanes and disrupt shots yet still kept the fouls to a low. If this is going to be the set rotation moving forward, that’s going to need to be more of a trend the rest of this season.
Szuba: Mostly zone or mostly man?
We’ve seen Syracuse predominantly play 2-3 zone in two of its last three games. With limited depth and a poor Georgia Tech shooting team on the docket, do we see the return of zone? On one hand, if Syracuse is able to individually shut down Miles Kelly it could take care of Georgia Tech, so man might sense. But Autry might want to continue the zone play to avoid foul trouble. Plus, do we see the return of Kyle Cuffe?
