Syracuse defeated Georgia Tech, 80-63, on Saturday afternoon. Here are some quick hits from the game:
- The Syracuse press got Georgia Tech out of sorts in the first half, as they committed a dozen turnovers in the session and nine after Jim Boeheim flipped the switch. The Orange scored 18 points off those miscues. Six of those GT turnovers were steals and SU scored on five of those opportunities, including four transition scores.
- While Joe Girard III’s shooting cooled off a little in the second half (7-of-11 before the break, 4-of-10 after), he picked it up by setting up his teammates with five of his seven assists coming after intermission. Judah Mintz also had four of his six assists in the second half.
- Quadir Copeland saw his first action in two weeks after a rough cameo against Virginia. Copeland supplanted Justin Taylor in the second half forward rotation, grabbing six boards and handing out two assists in just over 17 minutes of play.
- Foul trouble is starting to become a concern for Jesse Edwards, as he has committed three or more fouls in the last four games and seven of eight. It has not really cut his playing time, as he is averaging 31.3 minutes in those eight games and 31.1 minutes per contest on the season, but it deserves monitoring.
- For the second time in four games (home win against Virginia Tech), Benny Williams finished with one point in eight minutes of play.
- Girard is averaging 20.8 points per game in nine ACC outings on 43.5 percent shooting overall and 39.2 percent from three. He also is averaging 3.9 assists in conference play. There is a long way to go, but a First Team All-ACC nod is definitely possible.
- SU made 13 of 18 shots from the field immediately after allowing Georgia Tech to make just 2-of-14 shots to start the second half. When the Jackets threatened late, the Orange turned up the defense once more, holding the hosts to 3-for-11 shooting over the final eight-plus minutes of play, which includes a meaningless dunk for their final basket.
NEXT UP
Tuesday night, the Orange (13-7, 6-3 ACC) welcome North Carolina (13-6, 5-3) to the JMA Wireless Dome for the two squads’ lone matchup of the season. The Tar Heels have won eight of their last ten contests and face North Carolina State on Saturday evening prior to their trip to Syracuse.
Armando Bacot, R.J. Davis, and Caleb Love form a three-headed offensive monster for UNC, combining for over 50 points per game. Bacot leads the way with 17.6 points and an ACC-leading 11.2 rebounds per game. Davis and Love each average 16.3 points per game and have both made 36 threes on the season, the former doing so on 38.6 percent shooting from long range. Bacot had 17 points and 18 rebounds while Davis and Love combined for 38 points in Carolina’s 88-79 victory when the Orange and Tar Heels met last season.
Tuesday night’s tip is a late one, as the action is set to get underway at 9:00pm Eastern with the game airing on ESPN.
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POSTGAME
“I think Joe and Judah really looked for him and he finished.” – Coach Boeheim on Maliq Brown
— SUJuice.com (@TheJuiceOnline) January 21, 2023
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