Two teams that have had up-and-down Atlantic Coast Conference campaigns meet Saturday when Syracuse travels to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech.
Syracuse (16-9, 7-7 ACC) is coming off an 86-79 home upset of No. 7 North Carolina, the first marquee win of head coach Adrian Autry’s tenure.
The Orange had dropped three of four games prior to Tuesday but got big scoring nights from Judah Mintz with 25 points and JJ Starling with 23.
“That was obviously the best game we’ve played all year,” Autry said. “I thought everybody that played in the game was outstanding, in particular Judah and JJ. … Coming into the season with those two guys, those were the expectations. Today they really stepped up big.”
Mintz shot 8-for-11 from the field to go along with five rebounds and four assists. Starling, who transferred from Notre Dame prior to the season, made 9 of 15 shots against the Tar Heels.
Mintz leads the team with 18.4 points per game and Starling follows with 13.6 points per contest.
Syracuse’s impressive play at home continued, as the Orange moved to 12-2 inside the dome. Life away from home, however, hasn’t been as kind to Syracuse, as it tries to improve on a 1-5 road conference record in Atlanta.
Georgia Tech’s season continues to be a head scratcher. The Yellow Jackets (10-15, 3-11) have wins over North Carolina, Duke and Clemson, but find themselves tied for last place in the ACC entering the weekend.
On Wednesday, Georgia Tech lost at Notre Dame, 58-55, despite holding the Fighting Irish to just 31.6 percent shooting from the field. The Yellow Jackets’ rebounding woes proved to be the deciding factor, as they were outrebounded 40-31 and 16-5 on the offensive glass.
“Looking at 16 offensive rebounds, that’s the game,” Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said. “We have to bleed into the little things, and the little things are rebounding and boxing out, and we didn’t do that.”
Georgia Tech’s leading scorers on the season, Miles Kelly (14.6 points per game) and Baye Ndongo (11.8) each went for 11 points in the loss, while freshman Ibrahima Sacko scored a career-high 13 off the bench.
–Field Level Media
