Miles McBride and Derek Culver of West Virginia Basketball up against Syracuse zone

1. West Virginia’s shooters must be ready to knock down shots

There may be no defense as iconic as Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone, and the effectiveness of that zone was on full display in the Orange’s rout over San Diego State.  The Aztecs were held to their second-lowest output all season and mustered just 18 points in the opening 20 minutes of play.

A key part of Syracuse’s defense is allowing teams to take several three-pointers – opponents take at least 27.3 three-pointers against the Orange, and are typically, either long, contested shots from the elbow, or wide-open bombs from the corner that are created by kick-outs from inside the key.

Both were utilized by San Diego State, and, although the Aztecs drained 11 three-pointers – the most they have made in over a month – they were also an incredibly inefficient 27.5% from the perimeter, attempting 40 long-range bombs.

It is now the second-straight game where a team has attempted at least 30 three-pointers against Syracuse, with Virginia having taken 35 in the ACC Tournament – and that will most likely happen again with West Virginia.  The Mountaineers attempt just over 20 three-pointers a game and do not rely much on the three-ball, but they rank in the top 65 nationally in 3P% and have taken over 20 threes in eight of their last nine games.

The Mountaineers will have opportunities – but they must take advantage, particularly with kick outs from Derek Culver and Gabe Osabuohien.  West Virginia has several players – Sean McNeil, Miles McBride, Taz Sherman, Jalen Bridges, and Emmitt Matthews, all five of whom made a three against Morehead State – that are willing to take and make three-pointers, but the Mountaineers have struggled with consistency, including a 5-24 performance from long range in a loss to Oklahoma State earlier this month.