SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse basketball (8-6, 1-2 ACC) looks to rebound from a weekend loss when it hosts the Virginia Tech Hokies (10-4, 1-2 ACC) on Tuesday night.
The game tips off just after 9 p.m. at the Dome and will be shown on the ACC Network, available to subscribers of many cable and satellite TV packages. You can also stream it through the ESPN app as long as you receive the ACC Network in your TV subscription. Chris Cotter and Chris Spatola will be the announcers.
Syracuse, currently ranked 88th in the NCAA’s NET Ratings, is coming off a tough 88-87 home loss to Notre Dame on Saturday night. The game featured a three-point shooting barrage, with each team making 15 treys. But in the end, it was decided by an offensive rebound and put back by Irish forward John Mooney with 40 seconds remaining.
Virginia Tech (No. 56 in NET) enters fresh off a 65-39 blowout loss Saturday night at arch-rival Virginia, which Syracuse visits next. The Hokies had won four straight games before that, and Virginia Tech owns a victory over then No. 3 Michigan State in the Maui Invitational in Hawaii on Nov. 25. The Hokies’ leading scorer is 6’7 redshirt freshman Landers Nolley, II, who is averaging 17.4 points per game. He is the team’s only double-digit scorer.
Tuesday’s contest is the 14th all-time meeting between Syracuse and Virginia Tech. The Orange lead the series 9-4, including a 5-2 mark since Syracuse joined the ACC in the 2013-14 season. The Hokies won’s last year’s matchup, 78-56, in Blacksburg, Virginia under then-head coach Buzz Williams. Former Wofford head coach Mike Young is in his first year at the helm of Virginia Tech.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) gives Syracuse a 63.5 percent chance of beating the Hokies. The projected point differential is 3.4 points.
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CNYBJ file photo by Adam Rombel