SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Syracuse has won four straight games to become somewhat more than an afterthought for the postseason. The Orange is intent on keeping that streak going as it hits the perilous road in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the second time in a week.
“We’re rolling,” said leading scorer Andrew White, who’s tied with Pitt’s Jamel Artis for the lead in scoring (20.5) in conference games. “We’re going to have to play better on the road than we did our last road game if we’re going to come out with it (a win). The best way to keep momentum is to keep urgency.”
The recent surge for Syracuse (15-9, 7-4 ACC) has the Orange alone in fifth place in the ACC, ahead of No. 18 Duke (6-4), Notre Dame (6-5), and Virginia Tech (5-5).
“This team has had a lot of adversity, obviously,” coach Jim Boeheim said after Saturday’s four-point win over then-No. 9 Virginia . “Four games ago, we were in a deep hole we had to work our way out of. They’ve done a great job. They just keep playing, keep fighting. Very proud of this team.”
Before the conference tournament in Brooklyn in early March, the Orange also has two games against both No. 4 Louisville and Georgia Tech, plays at Pittsburgh, and hosts the Blue Devils.
“We have to make sure we can keep this momentum going,” White said. “It feels good. We won four in a row. I don’t want to go 4-1. We don’t know what we’re going to need at the end of the year.”
The Tigers (13-9, 3-7 ACC) entered Sunday’s game against then-No. 15 Florida State riding a two-game winning streak, but they committed a season-high 22 turnovers that led to 35 points for the Seminoles and lost badly, 109-61.
One bright spot for the Tigers was Avry Holmes, who continued his shooting streak, making 4 of 5 from long range and scoring a team-high 15 points. He’s shooting a conference-leading 53.8 percent from beyond the arc in ACC games.
Syracuse has won games with spectacular flurries of long-range shooting , it has won dominating the glass and also while being dominated on the boards, and it has allowed as many as 14 3-pointers and still found a way to win.
One thing has stood out, though - when the Orange commits to its signature zone defense, it can be a handful. Syracuse, which leads the ACC in steals (8.6 per game), beat both Pitt and Florida State with nine blocks in a pair of impressive wins and forced Virginia into 15 turnovers, one off the Cavaliers’ season high.
Boeheim has been relying heavily on both White and point guard John Gillon, both fifth-year players in their only season at Syracuse. White has scored 20 or more points in four straight games and Gillon was voted ACC player of the week on Monday for the first time this season.
Gillon hit nine 3-pointers in an overtime win last week at North Carolina State to tie a school record; more importantly, he scored 20 consecutive points at the end of the second half, including a 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left to send the game into overtime, and also had nine assists. Against Virginia, he had six points, two rebounds, four assists and two steals, and his basket in the final minute of play helped secure the victory.
Still, Clemson promises to be a challenge for a team that’s only won once on the road.
“This year, literally, any team can beat another team in our conference. I’ve never seen that,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said Monday on the weekly ACC teleconference. “You could have all of our teams go to the NCAA Tournament, but we’re knocking each other off.”
___
More AP college basketball at https://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 .
Please read our comment policy before commenting.