Yellow Jackets Blown Out By Red-Hot Orange
Thanks in part mostly due to the phenomenal efforts of Syracuse forward Elijah Hughes & guard Buddy Boeheim, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets found themselves on the wrong end of 30+ point blowout, falling 97-63 to the hands of the Syracuse Orange on their own floor. It was the worst home loss since January 17, 1981 when the Jackets fell 85-48 to #2 Virginia.
"They were the aggressor, they came out swinging," Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner said. "That got them the lead and we didn't have the fire power to come back from that."
The way that Syracuse was able to move the ball around on the perimeter proved to be too much for Tech to handle, resulting in Cuse's two leading scorers on the season both setting career highs. Hughes came away with 33 points on 10-15 shooting and Boeheim finished with 26 on 8-15. Each made 6 three pointers in the game, which was a career high for Boeheim and tied Hughes'.
On the opposite end of the floor the Orange put the clamps on shooting guard Michael Devoe. The sophomore was hounded by the Syracuse zone defense all afternoon, resulting in him finishing with only 7 points and going just 2-12 from the field.
"We just wanted to be there every time he caught it," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. "We didn't want to give hime any space or driving lanes."
That wasn't the end of Georgia Tech's woes either. They shot only 38.1% from the field, went just 7-18 from the free throw line and turned the ball over 19 times. Tech was also out rebounded 40-30, with center James Banks III finishing with a season low 3 rebounds and no blocked shots.
Syracuse had been averaging just 69.0 points per game heading into their matchup with Georgia Tech. Despite scoring just a three pointer away from the century mark, it could have been much worse as the Orange turned the ball over on 22.4% of their possessions.
Tech held the lead for only 37 seconds off of a bucket from Moses Wright to begin the game, then Elijah Hughes took off. He connected on 4 three pointers in the first three minutes of the game and amassed 26 points in the first half alone, just 2 away from his previous career high.
It was the same song and dance to start the second half, this time from Buddy Boeheim. He hit his first 4 shots of the second half, with 3 of them of the three point variety. Like Hughes in the first half, Boeheim caught fire in the latter half as he totaled 20 second half points and was 4-6 on three point attempts.
The lone offensive bright spot for the Jackets came from Moses Wright. The junior forward came away with 17 points on 8-17 shooting and was 1 rebound away from a double double for the second straight game. Bubba Parham also finished in double digits with 11, albeit on 4-11 shooting.
Up next, the Jackets will travel on the road to Lexington, KY to face the Kentucky Wildcats in Rupp Arena. They'll have an entire week to prepare, as they won't do battle with John Calipari's Wildcats until Saturday the 14th. Tipoff is slated for 5pm on ESPN.
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also be sure to like us on Facebook & follow us on Twitter at @GeorgiaTechSI and Matthew McGavic at @GeneralWasp.
