Paschal Chukwu grabbed a rebound early in the first half but fumbled the ball away to Virginia Tech’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker. VT, one of the nation’s best offenses, looked set up for an easy bucket. But as Alexander-Walker rose up to finish at the rim, Oshae Brissett slid underneath and set his feet. He was there in time. The referee pointed down the floor. Charge. Problem averted by sound Syracuse defending.

SU (12-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) rode its active zone defense and timely scoring to a 68-56 victory over Virginia Tech (11-3, 0-1). The Orange held the Hokies to about 61 percent of its previous season average (91.3) in scoring. On New Year’s Eve, on the night that the ball will drop in Times Square at midnight, the basketball just wouldn’t fall through the rim enough for the Hokies. In the first half, that is. In the second, Virginia Tech got some of its mojo back. It wouldn’t be enough.

“You gotta have fun, in front of your home fans, Dome going crazy, it’s easy to get out there and play defense,” Syracuse forward Matthew Moyer said.

SU shut down the Hokies even without its leading shot blocker, Chukwu, for the final 10:10 of the first half as he sat with two fouls, and to an extent in the second half when he sat the final 8:40 of the game with four.

Virginia Tech entered the game leading the country in effective field goal percentage, per Kenpom.com. But on just VT’s second possession of the game, Chukwu stood tall in the lane and denied the Hokies’ Kerry Blackshear Jr. of a layup. Syracuse’s defense took its cue from that and continued to cause problems for Virginia Tech.

Much of the remainder of Syracuse’s strong defensive performance came courtesy of quick closeouts and consistent defensive rebounding. VT entered the game shooting 43.7 percent from 3-point land. The Orange held the Hokies to just 3-of-13 from distance in the first half, 23.1 percent. While Virginia Tech shot it better after the break, it was too late.

“I don’t think they saw a defense like us so far this year,” Tyus Battle said.

Neither Frank Howard nor Battle, SU’s top of the zone players, sat in the game, rarely allowing any room for VT’s Ahmed Hill or Justin Robinson to let fly freely. Syracuse’s guards prevented those deep looks while still keeping their hands active enough to prevent the ball from being passed to the free-throw line area. When Virginia Tech ran a player along the baseline, Matthew Moyer and Oshae Brissett cut off any potential entry-passing lanes from their wing baseline zone spots.

Brissett made his biggest contribution to shutting down the Hokies on the defensive glass. He had five defensive rebounds in the first half and finished with a total of nine rebounds. Even as Blackshear Jr. crashed the glass for VT as the tallest player — 6-foot-10 — on the court when Chukwu sat, Brissett would fly in from his corner and grab boards with two hands, elbows out, leaving no doubt whose ball it was. He was joined on the glass by Matthew Moyer and his 13 rebounds, many the result of hustling down longer rebounds that trickled away from the lane.

“Matt was really good, down on the boards,” Jim Boeheim said. “Oshae does what he does.”

On the Hokies first possession of the second half, a missed shot was headed toward a VT player. Avoiding an over-the-back foul, Brissett reached over gently and tipped the ball to Chukwu for an easy SU board. The 7-foot-2 center got credit for the rebound but Brissett made the play. On the ensuing offensive possession, Brissett glided down the right side of the lane for an open lay-in for two of his 19 points.

Virginia Tech was due to wake up eventually. In just more than four minutes to start the second half, Justin Bibbs hit two 3-pointers and Alexander-Walker added one. By the first media timeout of the second frame, the margin had been more than halved, from 15 to six at 34-28. Justin Robinson added another three just a minute later to make it a three-point game.

“We kind of expected them to make a run,” Howard said. “We knew they weren’t just going to lay down for us.”

That would be as close as the Hokies would come. Brissett made another layup, then two free throws on the next trip.

Next came the game’s key sequence. Syracuse had another less than stellar second-half defensive possession leaving Bibbs open for a 3-pointer, again. He missed, though, and VT kicked the ball out. Brissett punctuated the call by pointing both his arms in Syracuse’s direction, mimicking the referee making it.

Next, Howard backed down a VT defender and faded away for two more. Then, Moyer cut baseline and was found by Battle for a dunk. Finally, Battle himself rose on the right wing and swished a 3. More than 11 minutes remained, but for all intents and purposes, that was the dagger.

After the Battle three, Virginia Tech used a timeout. The Carrier Dome rocked as loud as it had all night.

“When the Dome’s rocking like that, it’s just an amazing feeling,” Battle said.

Moyer cut to the basket a few more times for easy buckets. Brissett continued to get to the basket. The Syracuse defense prevented VT from getting closer than 11 after that.

And with Syracuse facing an offense as good statistically as any in the nation, it wasn’t the Hokies hitting a dagger 3. It was Battle for the Orange.

Published on December 31, 2017 at 8:22 pm

Contact Billy: wmheyen@syr.edu | @Wheyen3