Syracuse (16-11, 8-6 Atlantic Coast) visits Georgia Tech (15-11, 6-7) at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday with a chance to snap its two-game losing streak. The Yellow Jackets have lost three of their last four conference games, including a nine-point loss at Miami on Wednesday. Sunday’s tilt is the first of two between the two teams in the final two weeks of the regular season.

Here’s everything you need to know about Georgia Tech.

All-time series: Syracuse owns a 4-3 advantage

Last time they played: The Orange topped GT on Jan. 30 of last season, 60-57, behind Michael Gbinije’s game-high 16 points. Malachi Richardson chipped in 13 points and Dajuan Coleman 11, while SU held the Yellow Jackets to 5-of-18 shooting from 3-point land. Tyler Roberson secured a game-high eight rebounds, four of which came on the offensive glass. The win pushed Syracuse to 15-9 on the season.

The Yellow Jackets report: Georgia Tech is one of the best defensive teams in the country, ranked ninth nationally in Kenpom.com’s defensive efficiency category. GT also blocks shots on 16 percent of opponent possessions, which ranks fifth in the country. Georgia Tech has wins this season over North Carolina, Florida State and Notre Dame, three of the ACC’s six ranked teams. The Yellow Jackets also have a 53-point loss to Duke on their resume, as well as losses to fellow bubble teams Virginia Tech, Clemson, Wake Forest and Miami. The Yellow Jackets score 58.5 percent of their points from two-point range, which is the sixth-highest percentage of points coming inside the arc in the country.

How Syracuse beats Georgia Tech: Protect the paint. Georgia Tech won’t do much damage from beyond the arc, and it’ll be up to SU’s often shoddy interior defense to stop the likes of forward Ben Lammers from taking over the game. Taurean Thompson will have to buck his recent trend of picking up fouls in bunches and Tyler Lydon will need a defensive performance the likes of which Jim Boeheim has raved about this season. And as long as the Orange doesn’t miss 25 3-pointers like it did against Louisville, the odds may be in Syracuse’s favor to pick of a valuable road win.

Stat to know:

67.8 – GT averages a meager 67.8 points per game, last in the ACC

Player to watch: Ben Lammers, forward, No. 44

Lammers ranks second in the country with 3.3. blocks per game but according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the junior may not be 100 percent for Sunday’s game due to an ankle injury. Lammers also scores 14.7 points per game and grabs 9.4 rebounds per contest, sure to be the most challenging task for Syracuse’s frontcourt on Sunday evening.

Published on February 18, 2017 at 7:52 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman