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Syracuse did the unimaginable Tuesday, upsetting No. 7 North Carolina one month after the Tar Heels beat the Orange by 36 points. Syracuse led for most of the game and made big plays down the stretch to secure its first AP top-10 win since 2019.

“They embarrassed us the last time we played them. We wanted to come out and make a statement, at least show that we’re here and we compete,” Judah Mintz said.

The page now turns to Georgia Tech, where Syracuse makes the trip Saturday. The Yellow Jackets and the Orange split the season-series last year, winning on each other’s home floor.

Here’s everything to know about Georgia Tech (10-15, 3-11 Atlantic Coast Conference):

All-time series

Syracuse leads 8-7.

Last time they played…

To close out February last season, Syracuse hosted Georgia Tech, which it had defeated by 17 over a month earlier. But similarly to how the Orange flipped the script versus UNC, the Yellow Jackets turned the tide with a 96-76 victory at the JMA Wireless Dome.

The Yellow Jackets entered as the league’s third-worst 3-point shooting team, but dropped a school-record 18 triples on the Orange, who conceded 13 or more 3-pointers for a fourth straight game. Miles Kelly and Lance Terry both had seven threes.

Syracuse, which gave up 53 first-half points, trailed by only nine entering the second half. But it missed all seven of its 3-pointers and shot just under 40% from the field, burying itself into a hole it couldn’t get out of.

“We just have not been able to stop anybody four games in a row,” former head coach Jim Boeheim said. “That’s on me, it’s my defense, and we’re not able to stop anybody with it.”

KenPom odds

Syracuse has a 56% of winning, with a projected score of 75-73.

Cole Ross | Digital Design Editor

The Yellow Jackets report

Sitting in the bottom-third of the conference, Georgia Tech is coming off a 58-55 loss at Notre Dame, the second of a two-game road trip and its fourth straight loss. Similar to Syracuse, it lost by 29 to Wake Forest but also upset North Carolina by one at home. The win over UNC on Jan. 30 snapped a three-game losing streak.

Kelly, Baye Ndongo and Kowacie Reeves Jr. all average double-digit points for the Yellow Jackets, who have the third-worst scoring offense in the ACC. Defensively, GT gives up 4.4 points per game and ranks 170th in adjusted defensive efficiency, per Ken Pom.

With the ball, Georgia Tech has a tendency to turn it over, coughing it up over 12 times a game, which is in the bottom-third of the ACC. However, on the glass, it averages 38 rebounds per game.

How Syracuse beats Georgia Tech

Each game is different, but there were many aspects in the win over North Carolina, aside from making over 60% of its shots, that can be applied down the stretch.

Syracuse has been playing with a very limited lineup recently, using just seven players. Though SU got into foul trouble early, aggressive defenders like Maliq Brown and Quadir Copeland played without getting their fourth fouls. Tight defense in the post forced UNC to kick out for 3s, which UNC made, but GT is one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the conference.

Georgia Tech is strong on the glass, and averages 38 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks third in the conference. Limiting Yellow Jacket possessions to just one shot will reduce the number of second-chance buckets in the paint that might draw fouls on the Orange big men.

Stat to know: 13.3%

Head coach Adrian Autry preached about Syracuse’s ability to control the basketball as a factor in defeating North Carolina. The Yellow Jackets aren’t as aggressive defensively and steal the ball just under five times a game, the second fewest in the ACC. Consequently, Georgia Tech forces turnovers on 13.3% of its possessions, per KenPom, which ranks 354th in Division-I — essentially rock bottom. If Syracuse can limit the turnovers, it should have no trouble versus Georgia Tech.

Player to watch: Miles Kelly, guard, No. 13

Kelly torched the Orange last year in their second meeting with 30 points. This year, he leads the Yellow Jackets with just under 15 points per game and is the team’s leading 3-point option. On Feb. 10, he scored a season-high 36 points with six 3-pointers. Starting all 25 games this season, his production is very similar to last year when he averaged 14.4 points per game and shot 41% from the field.

Published on February 15, 2024 at 1:59 am

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini