No. 22 Syracuse Struggles From Deep in First Home Loss to No. 19 Virginia Tech

By Andrew Della Piana | @dellie_5

The three-point line sits just a hair over 22 feet from the hoop in college basketball. It made the biggest difference this afternoon in No. 22 Syracuse’s 75-62 loss to No. 19 Virginia Tech. The Hokies connected from a distance 12 times today. SU went just 24% from downtown, and now all three of its losses have come when shooting under 30% from three. For head coach, Felisha Legette-Jack, it was just an off day for her squad.

“So five for 22 is not a fantastic stat, so I just figured we don’t need to take as many shots as we are because we can go to the lip and the free throw line, you know. We only shot 17 free throws tonight when we should have taken about 30 because they were reaching and grabbing. We’re fasting because they’re not fast enough to guard us, so let’s prove it by simply trying to get to the lip like Alaina was trying to do, but we’ll keep learning.

“We lost focus, and that won’t happen again under my watch. Nothing will be more crucial than being prepared for the game ahead of us.”

Today’s defeat snapped a 15-game home game win streak for the Orange. That loss came almost a calendar year ago to Louisville. Funny enough, that’s SU’s next opponent on Thursday in the Bluegrass State. The No. 18 Cardinals have won the last 7 consecutive meetings with the Orange. 

aedellap@syr.edu | @dellie_5