Virginia Tech was supposed to get to the foul line at will. The Hokies had 644 attempts from the charity stripe to their name before Tuesday, an average of more than 29 per game and over 80 more than any other team in the conference.

Against Syracuse, Virginia Tech only took 13 foul shots and fell victim to a disciplined SU defense that only had two players commit over two fouls on the night. On the opposite end, the Orange hoisted 32 attempts from the line and resorted to attacking the rim when its shots weren’t falling in the early going.

Twenty makes from the charity stripe helped Syracuse (16-8, 6-5 Atlantic Coast) pull away in a 68-60 overtime win over Virginia Tech (12-11, 4-6) in the Carrier Dome, but more than double the attempts the Hokies took were hardly lauded with less than a 63-percent mark to show for them.

“It would be nicer if we could make a few more,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “We’re still not making enough free throws.”

Boeheim recalled the 2012-13 Marquette team and how it came into the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight matchup with Syracuse as known for getting to the line often. In the Orange’s 55-39 win that advanced it to the Final Four, the Golden Eagles only took 16 foul shots.

The coach of that team was the same one on the opposite sideline in the Carrier Dome Tuesday night, Buzz Williams.

“There was some myth I remember at Marquette a couple years ago that they get to the foul line a lot,” Boeheim said. “Yeah, that was a nice myth too.”

The head coach attributed the disparity in attempts from the charity stripe to the defenses each team faced. The Hokies foul-shot numbers, Boeheim said, should naturally go down when facing a zone.

And a Syracuse team struggling to find a rhythm from the field, especially when being guarded man-to-man, instinctively tried to penetrate.

“It’s very important especially with shots not falling,” Michael Gbinije said. “…get your rhythm back, see the ball go in, so it’s definitely important to get to the line.”

On Tuesday, each Syracuse player who saw the court attempted at least two foul shots. Tyler Roberson and Trevor Cooney led the way with eight and seven, respectively, but they only made seven combined. Tyler Lydon was the only one to make all his attempts, going 4-for-4.

Syracuse’s mark from the line against the Hokies was 5 percent lower than its season average. The bevvy of trips to the foul line helped the Orange inch closer before pulling ahead, but Cooney didn’t think it even had to get to that point.

“I think we all struggled besides Lydon,” he said. “We make those foul shots and it’s not a game really.”

Published on February 3, 2016 at 2:37 am

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman