Instant Juice: Syracuse 84, Boston College 71

Jim Boeheim
Syracuse Orange head coach Jim Boeheim looks on from the sidelines. Mandatory Credit: Kicia Sears, The Juice Online.

A quick take on Syracuse’s 84-71 win over Boston College on Tuesday evening:

WHAT HAPPENED: After a Derryck Thornton made a 3-pointer to cut Syracuse’s lead to 44-38 lead with 15:43 left, Syracuse went on a 7-0 run to make it 51-38 less than two minutes later. A second 7-0 run capped by a Bourama Sidibe dunk, which he rebounded off a Buddy Boeheim missed 3-pointer, gave the Orange complete control at 60-42 with 9:11 left. A couple of late 3-pointers cut SU’s lead to 11, but the Orange was never seriously threatened.

» Related: Would an extra season at Syracuse help Elijah Hughes?

ANALYSIS: The win over Boston College, the worst team in the ACC according to KenPom, won’t help Syracuse’s NCAA resume much, but it guarantees that the Orange will at the very least head into Selection Sunday weekend with a winning record and at worst an NIT bid. The Orange will close out the regular season against Miami and then will play in at least one ACC Tournament game. Even if SU were to lose both games, it would still finish with a 17-15 record. As it stands, the Orange currently holds sole possession of fifth in conference play (10-9), a half game ahead of Notre Dame, Clemson and Georgia Tech, who are all 9-9.

HERO: While neither shot the ball well from beyond the arc (a combined 6-10 from 3), Boeheim (21 points) and Elijah Hughes (28) provided all of the offense Syracuse needed. Sidibe continued his stellar play as of late, scoring nine points to go with 12 rebounds (six on the offensive end). That allowed SU to achieve a rare feat in ACC play, outrebounding an opponent (+4).

ZERO: Steffon Mitchell went 0-4 from the line, and Boston College shot a combined 2-10 from the free throw line. They’re called free throws for a reason. Though Jay Heath scored 17 points, he also committed five turnovers, one of 18 for the Eagles.

WHAT’S NEXT: Syracuse closes out the regular season on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Miami. TV: ACC Network.

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About Wes Cheng 2907 Articles
Wes has worked for Rivals.com covering the New York Knicks, as well as for Scout.com covering Syracuse athletics. Wes has also been a contributing writer for the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), for SportsNet New York (SNY) as a news desk writer covering all of New York professional sports, and reported on the NBA and MLB for the New York Sportscene. A native of Long Island, New York, Wes graduated from Syracuse University in 2005 with a degree in journalism. Contact him at wes[at]sujuiceonline.com.