This has become all too familiar for Orange fans. Syracuse went to Blacksburg and fought hard, pushing the Hokies to overtime. But ultimately, once again the Orange fell short. Jaquan Carlos, the subject of plenty of scrutiny this week, hit a three pointer down the stretch to force OT. But in the extra session the Hokies pulled away and won 101-95.
Jyare Davis led the Orange with 21 points while Eddie Lampkin netted his 13th double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 boards. It was one of the best offensive performances of the season for the Orange, scoring 82 points in regulation. But much like the rest of the season, there was a blown lead and defensive stops were minimal in the clutch. The Orange built a 47-38 lead at halftime, but were outscored by 9 points in the second half, and then gave up 19 points in the overtime.
The good news is the win this week over NC State seems to have locked in the Orange to a spot in the ACC Tournament. The bad news is, the losses just keep mounting and gives little reason for optimism heading into Charlotte. Three Hokies scored 20+ points and the 101 points given up were the most this season.
The cries for Adrian Autry’s job continue to get louder, and he has landed on multiple “hot seat” lists across the country. But at the moment it doesn’t seem like anything can change the mind of John Wildhack to stay the course with Autry into season number three. There’s a trip to Dallas to take on SMU on Tuesday, and then the regular season wraps up at the Dome next weekend vs. Virginia. Let’s see what the atmosphere is like for the finale, because the vibe for the Wolfpack game was low energy and that always leaves a bad taste in the mouths of decision makers.
