BLACKSBURG – Playing at home for the second Saturday in a row, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team rides a three-game winning streak into its matchup against Syracuse at noon ET, which is a sellout.
The Hokies (13-4, 4-2 ACC) will go up against the Orange (10-7, 3-3), a team they defeated just a week ago in Syracuse, New York at the Dome, marking the first time Tech has won over 'Cuse at that arena.
Former BIG EAST foes, the two schools have faced each other the last six season in a row, while the Orange lead the all-time series 9-5. The first matchup was in '76.
Earlier this year, Tech won by four at the Dome thanks to Jalen Cone posting a career-high 19 points and the Hokies assisting on 21 of 22 made field goals.
Tech coach Mike Young is 1-0 all-time against Syracuse and coach Jim Boeheim, with that lone victory coming last week up in Syracuse, New York.
The matchup will be broadcast on regional sport networks (click here), with Eric Collins (play-by-play) and Brian Oliver (analyst) on the call, while Jon Laaser (play-by-play) and Mike Burnop (analyst) will broadcast on Virginia Tech Sports Properties.
GAME INFORMATION
Sat. | Noon ET vs. Syracuse | Stats | Watch | Radio | Notes
The last time out, Tech got up by as many as 20 points against in the Demon Deacons in its 80-70 victory to mark its third ACC road win of the season. The Hokies forced 18 turnovers and capitalized off of those miscues, outscoring Wake 19-2 from points off turnovers.
Redshirt freshmen Tyrece Radford and Landers Nolley II both tallied 21 points, with Radford's total being a career. He went on to finish with a double-double, marking his second of the season.
The Hokies are No. 3 in the country in two main categories, including assist-turnover ratio (1.60) and personal fouls per game (13.1), which ranks second & third in the ACC.
SCOUTING SYRACUSE
• The Orange are coming off a 26-point thumping of Boston College (9-9, 3-3) on Saturday at home behind the stellar play of Buddy Boeheim, who had a team-high 22 points thanks for four 3-pointers, giving 'Cuse a two-game winning streak entering Blacksburg.
• Jim Boeheim enters his 44th season as the head coach in Syracuse, starting all the way back in 1976. The Hall of Famer has led the Orange to five Final Four appearances and won it all in 2003. He ranks second all-time in wins, trailing only Duke's Mike Krzyzewski in Division I.
• 'Cuse is paced by Elijah Hughes, who is playing like an All-ACC performer, owning the second-best points per game average (19.5) in the conference and ranks eighth in assists (4.4). Buddy Boeheim, the son of Jim, has racked up 62 3-pointers on the year, the most in the league.
•. Sharing the basketball is one of the Orange's strengths, as they sit No. 24 in the nation in assists per game with 16.4, which ranks third in the ACC, and they rarely turn it over, with the 19th-best assist/turnover ratio nationally with 1.34.
