3 observations from pivotal Virginia Tech men's basketball win over Syracuse

When the Virginia Tech men's basketball team took the court at the JMA Dome on Wednesday night to face Syracuse in a pivotal ACC game, veteran Hokies coach Mike Young knew what his team was going to be up against. On Saturday afternoon, the Orange suffered an embarrassing loss in overtime, 81-73, at Boston College. For a team that had visions of a berth in the NCAA Tournament, that's not a loss they can afford.

As expected, Syracuse came out angry and put together a first half that appeared to catch Virginia Tech off guard. They shot lights out, but they made the Hokies earn everything they got on the defensive end. It allowed the Orange to take a seven-point lead into halftime before flipping the script and outscoring Syracuse, 46-37, in the second half to pick up a pivotal road win. Here are three observations after Tech improved to 15-5.

Virginia Tech almost collapses again

I mean, this team could not have afforded another last-minute collapse. It almost happened again. Almost. The Hokies were up nine points with 1:02 left when shenanigans began once again. Missed free throws and turnovers let the Orange back into the game. Fortunately for Young's team, the Orange didn't fully capitalize.

For some reason, Virginia Tech kept inbounding the ball against the Syracuse press into the corner, which allowed for an easy trap. It isn't the first time it's happened this year. The last time they inbounded the ball, they threw it up to Neoklis Avdalas at midcourt. They have to be better in late-game situations.

Ben Hammond continues to shine

Where would this team be without Ben Hammond? The sophomore scored a game-high 24 points, was 12for-13 from the free throw line, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out four assists. He did all that in 37 minutes. Oh, and he had six steals.

Amani Hansberry, Avdalas, and Tobi Lawal (when healthy) have been the players getting all the attention, but now it's time Hammond gets more of it. He deserves it. This team isn't 15-5 without him on both ends of the floor.

Neoklis Avdalas struggled again

Avdalas struggled and struggled mightily. He shot 4-for-15 from the field, which included four missed 3-point field goals. He finished with four rebounds, and he had four assists. He played 33 minutes, but boy, he did not look shooting the ball. Again.

This compounds how good Hammond has been and needs to be for Virginia Tech. As teams have gotten more video of Avdalas, they are guarding him differently, but against Syracuse, he just didn't look comfortable at all on the offensive end. He missed some easy shots around the basket, which could have played a role in him looking like he had little confidence.

This was the Hokies' first win at Syracuse since Jan. 18, 2020, and they will head to Kentucky next to play Louisville on Saturday afternoon in another big game in terms of building an NCAA Tournament resume.