Judah Mintz scores 29 points to lead Syracuse basketball over Virginia Tech (final score, recap) (2024)

Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse star guard Judah Mintz scored 29 points to lead the Orange past Virginia Tech on Tuesday night in an 84-71 win that likely kept SU’s hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament feasible.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi appeared on the game at halftime and said that, according to his projections, the winner of the game would remain in contention for an at-large bid while the loser would be eliminated.

Despite being defended by Virginia Tech’s top defender, Mintz got into the paint at will, finishing with 29 points, six assists and three steals.

It was Mintz’s second-best point total of the season, falling short only of the 33 points he scored in an early-season game against LSU. It was Mintz’s highest assist total six he also recorded six on Feb. 3 against Wake Forest.

Mintz scored his 29 points on 10-for-17 shooting, making all eight of his free throws. Maliq Brown also played a strong game for Syracuse, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds.

Virginia Tech was led by 18 points from Sean Pedulla.

Syracuse dominated the first half, building up a 45-27 halftime lead. The Hokies played much better in the second half, repeatedly getting easy shots, but the Orange made enough baskets to keep its lead at seven or more for the entire second half and avoid the stress of the previous two wins.

Syracuse improved to 19-10 (10-8) and has won five of its past seven games. Virginia Tech falls to 15-13 (7-10).

Second half

1:30: Syracuse runs a lot of clock and ends its possession with a Maliq Brown dunk. This game is over except for the final score.

3:04: Judah Mintz drives and hits a runner and draws a foul. He’s up to 28 points, pending the free throw. That puts Syracuse in a very good spot. He makes it. Syracuse leads 80-69.

3:19: Syracuse leads 77-69 and looks in good shape. Orange had a bad possession that ended when Judah Mintz tried to leap into a Virginia Tech defender while shooting a 3-pointer. The officials wisely didn’t fall for it but Maliq Brown earned a foul in the rebounding action.

6:25: Huge stretch for Syracuse there. Quadir Copeland finds Maliq Brown for a dunk and then the teams trade transition opportunities until Syracuse gets a bucket. Orange lead is 75-63.

7:16: Virginia Tech has cut it to 69-62. Hokies are just getting layup after layup against the Orange defense.

Hokies are shooting 66.7 percent this half. Judah Mintz has a game-high 22 points but Sean Pedulla is closing and has 18 points.

11:22: Virgina Tech running some beautiful stuff coming out of timeouts. Gets a Hunter Cattoor lead to cut the Syracuse lead to 11. Quadir Copeland responds with two free throws. Syracuse lead is 65-52.

11:49: Well. It’s down to 63-49. Virginia Tech is getting a lot of easy buckets and is pushing tempo a little more. Syracuse is tossing in an occasional loose possession and not getting many stops, allowing the Hokies to slowly cut into the lead.

14:59: Not a ton of defense early in the second half and, on the few occasions there has been, some great shot-making. Virginia Tech has cut Syracuse’s lead to 57-42 but Justin Taylor will have a pair of free throws after the timeout.

19:18: Given the Notre Dame game some natural concerns about how Syracuse would come out after the half. First bucket goes to JJ Starling on a 3-pointer.

First half

Halftime: Syracuse 45, Virginia Tech 27. Orange have piled up a very nice margin which is good for winning the game and improving the efficiency metrics that are the biggest obstacle to an NCAA Tournament bid right now.

17.4: Judah Mintz is feeling it. Hits a deep mid-range step-back after getting separation with his dribble. Syracuse leads 45-27. Just overwhelming Virginia Tech right now.

2:11: Quadir Copeland takes it coast-to-coast directly through the teeth of the Syracuse defense for an easy dunk. Virginia Tech coach Mike Young is not very happy. Orange lead is 41-25.

4:29: Judah Mintz with a Euro step and a bucket to put Syracuse ahead 35-22. Mintz has 14 points. Virginia Tech doesn’t seem to have an answer to him.

5:32: Nice spurt by Hunter Cattoor. He picks up a dunk on one end and draws a chance on Kyle Cuffe on the other. Syracuse’s lead is 33-22.

7:50: Judah Mintz finishes an and-1. Syracuse’s lead is up to 31-20. Orange guards are just beating the Hokies at will.

7:50: Five straight points for Kyle Cuffe for Syracuse. He picks up a layup on a turnover and a drive and then knocks down a 3-pointer. Syracuse’s lead is 24-18. ESPN is about to put Joe Lunardi on television. Hopefully they put Jim Boeheim on to respond.

Judah Mintz has a game-high 9 points. No one else has more than five on either team.

9:14: Mylyjael Poteat takes advantage of a brief Peter Carey appearance and bullies his way inside for an and-1. He’ll be the strongest guy on the floor today. Judah Mintz has scored four straight for Syracuse. Orange lead 19-16.

10:04: Maliq Brown playing excellent defense as well. Has poked the ball away from Virginia Tech’s Lynn Kidd on back-to-back possessions. The most recent led to a Chris Bell layup and a 15-13 Syracuse lead.

Brown has four points, two rebounds and a steal. Also a couple turnovers as the Orange looks to run a lot of its offense through him. His counterpart, Kidd, has four points and three rebounds.

13:30: Virginia Tech takes its first lead on a corner 3-pointer by Sean Pedulla. Judah Mintz ties it. Virginia Tech gets a basket by Lynn Kidd.

13:45: Virginia Tech ties it as 8. A couple of nice possessions out of the timeout for the Hokies. Both of Chris Bell’s shots so far have been bad forces.

15:10: Syracuse gets off to an 8-4 lead in the early-going. Orange are playing excellent defense. Haven’t given much any at all. Maliq Brown is involved and off to a strong start for Syracuse. He already has a bucket, a rebound and an assist.

Hunter Cattoor also has one foul already while guarding Judah Mintz. It was a tough call on Cattoor who was called for getting his chest into Mintz on a jumper. Probably a good call but a tough one for Virginia Tech’s best defender to stomach early when he only has four more.

Pregame

The game is Senior Day for Syracuse, which will honor center Mounir Hima in a pre-game ceremony, although he does have a year of eligibility remaining.

The game is currently a Quadrant 2 game.

It will be interesting to see how Virginia Tech’s guards try to stay in front of Syracuse guards Judah Mintz, JJ Starling and Quadir Copeland. The Hokies don’t get many steals and blocks and aren’t particularly big or athletic at guard. Cattoor is considered the best defender.

Virginia Tech coach Mike Young does recruit players that are skilled passes and shooters, and the Hokie guards are experienced It will be interesting to see how well Syracuse can force turnovers from veterans Sean Pedulla and Cattoor.

Pedulla is Virginia Tech’s leading scorer at 15.6 points per game, while Cattoor is next at 13.7.

Chris Bell is shooting 59.2 percent from 3-point range over his last six games for Syracuse.

The two teams are the least likely in the ACC to secure an offensive rebound. Virginia Tech grabs only 22.3 percent of its misses, while Syracuse grabs only 21.9 percent.

Contact Chris Carlson anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-382-7932

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