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After two straight losses against ranked opponents — then-No. 19 Virginia Tech and then-No. 16 Louisville — Syracuse bounced back with a 75-63 win over Boston College. SU didn’t make it easy on itself, getting into a back-and-forth affair with the Eagles.

At one point, the Orange trailed by six in the third quarter, but Dyaisha Fair took over. Fair scored 25 of her season-high 38 points in the second half as Syracuse pulled away from BC late for its eighth conference win of the season.

Coming off of two straight road games, SU will be back in the JMA Wireless Dome Thursday to face Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets broke a three-game losing streak Sunday, defeating Wake Forest 58-55.

Here’s everything to know about Georgia Tech (14-9, 5-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) ahead of its matchup with No. 23 Syracuse (18-4, 8-3 ACC):

All-time series

Georgia Tech leads 6-3.

Last time they played…

On Jan. 19, 2023, Georgia Tech defeated Syracuse 69-57 for its first ACC win of the season after losing seven straight. It was a tight affair throughout and Syracuse led by one heading into the fourth quarter before the Orange fell apart. Dariauna Lewis hit a jumper to cut Syracuse’s deficit to 54-53, but GT embarked on a 15-4 run to finish the game.

Fair led Syracuse with 17 points, but took just 16 shots and hit just one 3-pointer on four attempts. Teisha Hyman (15) and Lewis (11) were the only other SU players in double figures.

The Yellow Jackets report

Georgia Tech has a very diverse offense, with four players averaging double digits, leading to 69 points per game which ranks 119th in the country, per HerHoopStats. The Yellow Jackets are a solid shooting team with a field goal percentage of 42.5%, putting them in the top 100 in the country. But their 30.4% clip from 3-point range ranks 195th in the nation.

The Yellow Jackets haven’t done much damage in the ACC this season. A three-game winning streak against lower tier teams in the conference was then thwarted in a 38-point loss to Duke on Jan. 14 — GT’s biggest loss this season. Since then, Georgia Tech has won just two of its last six games, losing by double digits on three occasions during that stretch.

In six games against ranked teams this season, Georgia Tech has failed to win each time and has lost by an average of 16 points.

How Syracuse beats Georgia Tech

Syracuse’s over-reliance on Fair at times is going to come back to bite it if the Orange don’t get consistent scoring outside of their star point guard. Fair willed SU to a win against Boston College with her heroics down the stretch. But as good as Fair is, she won’t put up those numbers every night.

Against stronger opponents, the lack of secondary scoring is going to hurt Syracuse, as shown in the Louisville loss. The Orange are going to have to be more physical in the paint after getting outscored 41-11 against Boston College. Freshman Alyssa Latham has gone through a rough patch and was benched for the first time all season against BC in place of Saniaa Wilson. But Latham’s presence down low has helped SU succeed this season, so getting her back on track will be big against GT.

Cindy Zhang | Digital Design Director

Stat to know: 16

Georgia Tech averages 16 assists per game, the third-most in the ACC. At times, Syracuse has struggled this season against teams who move the ball quickly. SU’s defense relies on causing chaos while scrambling, but GT seems to always find open players.

Against Louisville, Syracuse gave up 16 assists on 28 made field goals and allowed 19 versus BC on 27 made shots. This season, SU’s opponents average just under 15 assists per game, which is 304th in the country, according to HerHoopsStats. And against the Yellow Jackets, Syracuse will be tested against another team with strong ball movement.

Player to watch: Tonie Morgan, guard, No. 5

In her sophomore campaign, Morgan has increased her scoring total from 9.8 points per game to 15. While being second on the Yellow Jackets in scoring, she leads the team in assists with 5.2 per game, which ranks fourth in the ACC.

Morgan finished with a career-high 26 points against Virginia Tech on Jan 25. Similar to Virginia Tech’s Georgia Amoore — who lit up Syracuse for 29 points earlier this year — Morgan can score at a high clip while setting up her teammates. The key to stopping Georgia Tech’s offense starts with containing Morgan.

Published on February 6, 2024 at 11:40 pm

Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22