Home court remains king in the ACC.

The Syracuse Orange traveled down to Blacksburg for its fourth matchup of the new year against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Syracuse failed to make it three straight by falling 83-73 on the road.

Right out of the gate Virginia Tech earned itself an early 18-9 lead over Syracuse by carving up the zone on the interior. Syracuse was able to respond with a 9-0 run to tie the game, but the Hokies eventually took back control and went into the break with a 37-31 lead. SU was able to hang around largely in thanks to Andrew White’s 13 first half points.

VT started the second half by going on an 8-2 run. Although Tech never relinquished its lead, Syracuse was able to respond with runs to make the game competitive. Ultimately it was the Syracuse defense that failed to get stops as VT shot 49.1 percent from the floor and 40 percent from three while only turning the ball over six times.

Stats

Taurean Thompson led the way with 18 points and 8 rebounds while White added 15. Tyus Battle chipped in 13 while Tyler Roberson finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Syracuse won the rebounding battle 38-31 but only shot 29.4 percent from distance. The Orange also only assisted on 12 of its 28 made baskets. Syracuse must do a better job of moving the ball and moving in general on offense; There’s been too much one-on-one in late shot clock scenarios.

Lydon Struggles

Tyler Lydon finished the day with only two points. Syracuse will need more production from its star player to win, but he did roll his ankle in the first half of tonight’s contest.

Next Up

Syracuse returns home on Saturday looking for revenge against Boston College. That game tips at 4 pm from the Dome.