Five Takeaways: Syracuse 84 Virginia Tech 71

What to make of the Orange's win over the Hokies.

Syracuse basketball knocked off Virginia Tech 84-71 in the home finale Tuesday night. Here are five takeaways from the win. 

1. Mintz & Starling

Judah Mintz's 29 points will get the headlines. He scored 29 points on 10-17 shooting, was under control all game, found his teammates with six assists and got to the free throw line eight times. What was most impressive, however, was his defense. Same with JJ Starling. Those two had the task of covering Virginia Tech sharpshooters Sean Pedulla and Hunter Catoor. The Syracuse backcourt held them to just four combined threes, which was critical in the Orange victory. Mintz also had three steals while Starling added one. It was a strong defensive performance for the most part from those two. They could have kept Pedulla out of the lane a bit more, but the focus was clearly on preventing them from going off from deep. 

2. Cuffe/Taylor

Kyle Cuffe and Justin Taylor both gave Syracuse solid minutes. Neither is going to be counted on to put up huge offensive numbers, but they contributed when in the game and played solid defense. Taylor finished with six points and has now made his last six shots. He also added six rebounds. Cuffe had five points, two boards and one steal in 16 minutes, including making a three pointer. Both gave Syracuse something on both ends, which really helps as the Orange looks to get hot at the end of the season. 

3. Defense

Syracuse held Virginia Tech to just 6-20 shooting from three point range and forced 10 turnovers. The Hokies do struggle on the road, but Syracuse was physical especially in the backcourt. That seemed to disrupt the Va Tech offense other than the spurt in the middle of the second half. Syracuse took care of the basketball to prevent fast break opportunities, contested outside shots, picked up eight steals and blocked three shots. All things considered it was a solid defensive performance. It would have been nice to not allow 57% shooting in the second half, but it was still a good showing against a good offensive team. 

4. Composure

When Virginia Tech made its run to trim a 21 point lead down to seven midway through the second half, it could have very easily been a "here we go again" situation. Instead, Syracuse never let Virginia Tech get closer and closed out the game strong. Most notably, defensive intensity picked up including Chris Bell. Bell did not have his best shooting night at 1-8 from three and just seven points. He made the key defensive play, however, with Virginia Tech threatening to trim the lead back to seven. The Hokies had what appeared to be an open layup, but Bell came flying in to block the shot, pin it against the backboard. Copeland would get a layup at the other end to push the lead back to 11 and Virginia Tech would not seriously threaten the rest of the way. Great job by the coaches and players to stay focused and close out the game. 

5. Needed to Win

Almost every game is a must win at this point for Syracuse as they try to get back into the NCAA Tournament picture. That said, I think the Orange are closer to the bubble than people think. The only metric Syracuse is not solid in is the NET ranking. Strength of schedule, quad one wins, road wins, etc. have Syracuse comparable to other bubble teams. In order to stay in the mix, Syracuse flat out had to win this game. A loss likely would have ended any shot outside of winning the ACC Tournament. Now Syracuse still has a shot. Next up is at Louisville, and the Orange absolutely cannot afford a setback. The good news is, Syracuse has won four of its last five including three in a row and is playing its best basketball of the season. 

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