BLACKSBURG (WSLS 10 SPORTS) -
In their second ACC win over Syracuse the Hokies went back to the drawing board. And for their masterpiece they used the paint, where they scored 36 points against the Orange.
"Playing together and making the simple play. I think that we did a really good job of staying poised, we didn't take the shots they wanted us to take we took the shots that we wanted to take", said guard Seth Allen.
Virginia Tech was a dominant force down low all night long. Chris Clark and Zach LeDay combined for 26 of the Hokies 36 points in the paint. Clarke finished with 17 while LeDay lead all scorers with 22.
LeDay said, "Just knowing my teammates know where they're going to be at trying to just feed off them play off of them and just be in the right spot and not clog up the middle of that zone and pop out when I need to and be ready to finish when I have to".
It was clear early on that the Hokies key to success would be spacing the floor against the zone defense of the Orange. Coach Williams said it's something they worked on considering Syracuse's height advantage.
"They're so big and so long and it's not just the center that's coming to make a play on the ball. It's that forward when it goes to the high post they're taught to sponge to the blocks", said Williams.
"So it's both of those guys you have to finish over. We call that the alley back behind there. When you're in the alley you have to dunk it because if they lay it up they're going to block it."
The Hokies will look to continue their home winning streak Saturday as they welcome in #20 Notre Dame.