Syracuse, N.Y. — Coming off a dramatic win over No. 7 North Carolina earlier this week, Syracuse will look to avoid disappointment as it takes on Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Saturday.
Syracuse's 86-79 victory over North Carolina was the Orange's best win of the season and its first win against a top-10 opponent since the 2019 season.
Syracuse, currently 16-9 on the season and 7-7 in the ACC, will face a seemingly dangerous opponent at Georgia Tech on Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets are 10-15 overall and 3-11 in the conference, but their three ACC wins have come against three of the league's best teams: North Carolina, Duke and Clemson.
Georgia Tech lost to Notre Dame 58-55. The Yellow Jackets are in their first year under head coach Damon Stoudamire. Tech has lost four straight and seven of its past eight games.
Saturday's game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. at Georgia Tech's McAmish Pavilion. The match will be broadcast on the CW Network.
Here are five important things to know about the match.
orange crime
Syracuse coach Adrian Autry's decision to switch to a 2-3 zone defense drew a lot of attention when the Orange faced North Carolina on Tuesday. And rightly so. The zone kept SU players out of foul trouble, prevented North Carolina from dominating in the paint, and prevented UNC center Armando Bacot from taking over the game completely.
But let me say a word about Syracuse's offense.
Syracuse shot a season-high 62.5% from the field, making 30 of 48 shots. The Orange became the first team since Pittsburgh in 2015 to shoot 60 percent in the first half and second half of a game against North Carolina.
Syracuse, which entered this game at the bottom of the ACC in 3-point shooting, went 8-of-17 (47%) from beyond the basket against the Tar Heels. The Orange also got back to the free throw line, making 10 more free throws against UNC (18 of 25) than they did Saturday against Clemson (11 of 15).
What happened against Carolina that hasn't happened regularly this season? The ball moved. The floor was spread out. The shot went in because the quality of the shot was high. The defense also contributed to 10 stolen bases.
If Syracuse can replicate that type of offensive production, it won't matter what kind of defense the Orange plays.
bench trial
The matchup between Syracuse and Georgia Tech will feature teams with vastly different benches.
Syracuse started the season with incredible production from their reserves. Players like Malik Brown, Quadir Copeland, Benny Williams and Kyle Cuff contributed offensively and defensively off the bench.
Due to injuries and suspensions, Syracuse's depth is pretty thin. Naheem McLeod is out for the season with a foot injury. Williams was dismissed from the team. Redshirt freshman Peter Carey, who had been Brown's backup at center since McLeod was sidelined, missed both of the final two games with a concussion.
As a result, Syracuse coach Adrian Autry has used just seven players in the Orange's past two games.
Meanwhile, Georgia Tech ranks 36th in the nation in bench usage. The Yellow Jackets rank him second in the ACC and 82nd nationally in bench scoring (24.4 points per game).
But it's not how much production Syracuse and Georgia Tech get from their reserves that could really affect the outcome of Saturday's game. The bench factor could come down to whether the bench is ready to step in and make solid plays if Syracuse gets into foul trouble.
Starring Starling
JJ Sterling's season got off to a rocky start, but the sophomore guard is currently receiving rave reviews.
Sterling, a 6-foot-4 guard, spent his freshman year at Notre Dame before transferring to Syracuse. At the beginning of the season, Sterling struggled to fit into his new program. He also showed remnants of a shoulder injury he suffered last year at Notre Dame. His shooting stroke bore little resemblance to the smooth, confident shot he displayed at Baker High School in Baldwinsville.
In SU's first nine games, Sterling made just 3-of-24 3-pointers.
But over the next 16 games, Sterling rediscovered his jumper. He is 32-of-64 (38%) from 3-point range in that span, including 3-of-6 on the night in SU's win over North Carolina earlier this week. .
Sterling has recently taken his game to yet another level. Over Syracuse's past six games, Sterling is averaging 19.3 points. Those six games included a career-high 26 points in a win over North Carolina State and a 23-point performance in a win over North Carolina State.
Sterling's rise led to the tandem of two guards SU coach Adrian Autry envisioned coming into the season with sophomore Judah Mintz.
tech frosh
Syracuse has just one true freshman on the roster, but that player — 7-2 center William Patterson — is out as a redshirt this year, but Georgia Tech is heavily reliant on its freshman trio. dependent.
Baye Ndongo, Nathan George, and Ibrahima Sacco have all emerged to play important roles for the Yellow Jackets this season. He is one of three freshmen and has led Georgia Tech in scoring in 10 of its past 16 games.
Sacco, a 6-6 forward from Guinea by way of Ontario, was the newest freshman to pace the Jackets' scoring. He scored a season-high 13 points in Tech's 58-55 loss to Notre Dame on Wednesday.
Ndongo is a 6-9 center from Senegal who prepped at Putnam (Conn.) Science Academy and is averaging 11.8 points and 7.9 rebounds. George, a 6-3 guard from Toronto, scores 9.5 points per game and leads the Jackets with 4.8 assists per game.
stealing and trading
Syracuse has experienced difficulties on both offense and defense this year, but there were parts of the game where the Orange were able to make up for their shortcomings in both categories.
steal.
Syracuse leads the ACC with 9.3 steals per game. The Orange ranks 11th in the country in percentage of opponent offensive possessions that end in Syracuse steals. That number is 13.1 percent. The national average is 9.4%.
The steal allowed Syracuse to end the team's possession without taking a shot. Steal also helps SU's offense by generating transition baskets.
Georgia Tech ranks 14th in the ACC in turnover margin. The Yellow Jackets turned the ball over on 17.4% of their offensive possessions. According to KenPom.com, it is ranked 187th in the country.
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