Syracuse Basketball: 3 takeaways for Orange from blowout loss to Virginia

Riding high after an 18-point victory over the formerly 13th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies, Syracuse Basketball tumbled back down to earth after the Virginia Cavaliers wiped them 81-58 on Tuesday night. Although the Orange hung with the still-reigning  NCAA champions during the contest’s first half, trailing by just nine points heading into intermission, the Cavaliers left them for dead shortly after.

Moving the ball around the zone well, the Cavaliers ended up assisting on 23 of their 29 made field goals. The Orange, however, moved forward with more isolation-based offensive sets, and with top scorers Quincey Guerrier, Alan Griffin, and Buddy Boeheim shooting a collective 35% from the field, Syracuse failed to keep things interesting down the stretch.

Additionally, the always double-edged “live and die by the three-pointer” playstyle which Syracuse continues to implement this year undoubtedly hurt them this time around, as they shot an ugly 5/24 from beyond the arc. Contrarily, Virginia stayed red hot all night from outside against the Orange, nailing 14/31 shots. Sam Hauser contributed largely toward this, shooting 7/13, with all his made shots coming from three-point territory.

Struggling on the glass as well, the Orange lost the rebounding battle 28-41. Still missing Bourama Sidibe, Marek Dolezaj failed to hold down the fort under the rim. Jim Boeheim also neglected to play sophomore center Jesse Edwards, who played big minutes against Miami last week.

So where does the Orange go from here? Their tournament chances remain alive, but they missed a key opportunity to elevate themselves. Before moving on, these are three takeaways from Syracuse’s latest tough loss.