Orange Visit Virginia Tech Saturday

Game Details: Saturday, March 1, Blacksburg, Va., 12 p.m.
TV: The CW
Live Coverage: Stats
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Syracuse (12-16, 6-11 ACC) travels to Virginia Tech (12-16, 7-10 ACC) on Saturday to play the Hokies at Cassell Coliseum, beginning a two-game road trip for the Orange. The game will tip at 12 p.m. and will air live on The CW.

Setting The Stage
Syracuse defeated NC State in its most recent outing at the JMA Wireless Dome on Wednesday, 74-60. The Orange never trailed the Wolfpack and the 14-point margin of victory was Syracuse's largest in an ACC game this season. J.J. Starling, Jyare Davis and Eddie Lampkin Jr. combined to score 46 of Syracuse's 74 points on the night, with Starling's 17 pacing the Orange. Lampkin tallied 14 points and 15 boards for his 12^th double-double of the season.

Virginia Tech took Louisville down to the wire on Tuesday, losing 71-66 to the Cardinals. Brandon Rechsteiner led the Hokies with 18 points, collecting season highs in 3-pointers (4) and rebounds (5). As a team, Virginia Tech's 22 turnovers were its second most in a game this season. Prior to the loss to Louisville, the Hokies downed Miami at the Watsco Center, 81-68, last Saturday,

Virginia Tech is led by head coach Mike Young, who is in his fifth season at the helm of the program. Young is a two-time winner of the National Coach of the Year Award and led Hokies to their first their first ACC Tournament title by winning four games in four days in 2022.

The Syracuse-Virginia Tech Series
The Orange have won 13-of-20 all-time matchups against Virginia Tech, but the Hokies are 5-4 against Syracuse in games played at Cassell, which includes victories in each of the last two meetings there. The Orange defeated Virginia Tech in their most recent meeting at the Dome, 84-71, last February.

Starling Starring
Starling has scored 20-plus points in three of the last five games, as he tallied 28 in the triple overtime win over Boston College, scored 25 against Miami and poured in 22 versus North Carolina. He is averaging 21.2 points over the last five outings.

Starling surpassed 1,000 career points in Syracuse's victory at California earlier this month. The junior guard entered the night with 990 points and hit the 1,000 mark with a floater at the 15:09 mark of the second half. He finished that contest with 18 points. It took Starling 75 career games to reach the 1,000-point threshold, with the last 47 of those appearances coming with Syracuse after spending his freshman campaign at Notre Dame.

After missing seven games earlier this season due to injury, Syracuse's leading scorer has recorded double figures in 13 of his 15 appearances since rejoining the lineup. He is averaging 17.9 points per contest over that span.

Starling is averaging a team-best 18.4 points per outing on the campaign, the fifth most in the ACC this season through his 20 games played. His 38 points from the Orange's double-overtime victory against Youngstown State were a career high and the second most by any ACC player in a game this season.

Lampkin's Recent Leap
On Jan. 25 against Pittsburgh, Lampkin Jr. became the first Syracuse player to tally 23 rebounds in a game since Derrick Coleman did so against Villanova on March 10, 1990, at the Big East Tournament. Only two Syracuse players have grabbed more rebounds in a single game than Lampkin Jr. – Frank Reddout with 34 versus Temple on Feb. 9, 1952, and Dave Bing with 25 against Cornell on Feb. 8, 1966.

Lampkin's 23-rebound performance is one of the top 10 efforts on the glass in Syracuse history. Additionally, his 15 defensive rebounds versus the Panthers were the sixth most in a single game in Orange history, with the all-time Syracuse record sitting at 16. The 23 rebounds were also the most by any ACC player in a game since Armando Bacot also had 23 for North Carolina against James Madison on Nov. 20, 2022.

Against Duke earlier this month, Lampkin Jr. hit another career milestone, as he became the second Syracuse player in as many games to surpass 1,000 career points, joining Starling. Lampkin Jr. reached the mark with a layup at the 2:05 mark of the first half. After spending the first four seasons of his career at TCU and Colorado, where he totaled the first 776 points of his career, he has notched 225 this season with the Orange. Lampkin Jr. reached 1,000 points in his 127^th career appearance, the last 23 of which have come with Syracuse.

Lampkin Jr. is averaging 11.2 rebounds over the past 18 contests and has posted a double-double in nine of the last 14 outings. For the season, Lampkin Jr. is averaging 11.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. His 12 double-doubles on the campaign are tied with Rakeem Christmas (2014-15) for the third most by an Orange player since the start of the 2014-15 season. Only Jesse Edwards (15, 2022-23) and Oshea Brissett (14, 2017-18) had more in that span for Syracuse.

Efficient Offense
Syracuse turned in one of its most efficient offensive performances of the season Wednesday against NC State, shooting 58-percent (28-of-48) from the field in the victory, The Orange went 13-of-18 (72-percent) in the second half alone to secure the victory. It was the best shooting percentage in an ACC game for the Orange since shooting 63-percent (30-of-48) last February in a win over North Carolina.

Syracuse also dominated NC State in the paint Wednesday, outscoring the Wolfpack, 46-22, down low.

Crashing The Glass
As a team, Syracuse grabs 37.8 rebounds per contest, the third most in the ACC. The Orange boast a plus-3.4 margin on the season and have recorded double-digit offensive boards 16 times on the campaign, including in six of the last seven games.

Three different Syracuse players have pulled down 10 or more rebounds in a game this season – Lampkin Jr. (15 times), Donnie Freeman (seven times) and Davis (one time). Lampkin is second in the conference in rebounding (9.5 per game) and has double-digit boards in 13 of the last 17 outings.

Scouting Virginia Tech
Tobi Lawal is the only Hokie averaging double figures this season with 12.5 pointes per contest. Mylyjael Poteat (9.6 points per game) is second on the team in scoring and Jaden Schutt (8.0) ranks third. Schutt is Virginia Tech's top 3-point shooter, as he is 53-of-151 (35-percent) on the season. Jaydon Young (39), Ben Burnham (36) and Rechsteiner (34) have also made 30-plus triples on the season.

Lawal is also Tech's leading rebounder with 6.9 per contest and is pacing the Hokies in blocks with 17. Ben Hammond leads Virginia Tech with 28 steals this season while Rechsteiner has a team-high 87 assists.

As a team, the Hokies rank No. 6 in both ACC in 3-point percentage and 3-point defense. Virginia Tech also sits No. 9 in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (10.5).

Tickets
Syracuse men's basketball tickets are available online (cuse.com/tickets), by phone (1-888-DOMETIX) and at the Dome Box Office (Gate B).

For complete coverage of Syracuse men's basketball, follow the team on X (@Cuse_MBB) and Instagram (@cuse_mbb).

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Players Mentioned

Donnie Freeman

Eddie Lampkin Jr.

J.J. Starling

Syracuse University Athletics