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As the legendary coach Bob Knight would say, “Dumb loses more games than smart wins.” That was personified in the Carrier Dome on Tuesday Night as Virginia Tech turned the ball over eight times in the last six minutes against the Syracuse Orange full-court pressure. The Hokies lost a heartbreaker, 72-70.
Virginia Tech had this game all but wrapped up and put under the Christmas tree. But Rakeem Christmas and company had other plans. The senior put together another double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, not to mention his five blocks and four steals.
Most people would associate Adam Smith with the invisible hand theory, but Virginia Tech and Smith had the hot hand from deep. The Hokies shot 50 percent from long-range, forcing Syracuse to extend the 2-3 zone.
Syracuse needed this win to keep their tournament aspirations alive. If the Orange had dropped this game they would have fallem to 14-8 and 5-4 in the ACC with the toughest slate of games still to come. The Orange still have a great deal of work to do to make the Big Dance; they will likely have to win at least five more games in the ACC with two of those wins over ranked opponents.
Syracuse had improved bench play in this game. BJ Johnson and Ron Patterson scored 10 points off the pine, which is more than the Syracuse bench has scored in the last five games. Syracuse will need more production from the supporting cast going forward.
Jim Boeheim edged out a victory in a must-win situation, but the Orange still have a resume to build. Syracuse has plenty of opportunity on the remaining schedule.
James Szuba is a college basketball writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesSzuba.
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