Tuesday’s ACC matchup between the Florida State Seminoles and Syracuse challenged the Orange into some difficult situations that seem worrisome for the future.
Although the 94-86 win showcased a promising ceiling for the team, it also showed the repetitive problems that must be fixed to be a March Madness team.
In Tuesday’s game, Syracuse basketball trailed after a very slow start, while the Seminoles shot about 50% from the three point line in the first half.
Then after Syracuse was able to cool them off, the Orange built up their largest lead of 10 points in the 2nd half just for it to be taken away with nine minutes left to play. But Syracuse’s star forward, Donnie Freeman, refused to allow the team to lose.
Freeman was the hot man, and has been on fire since coming back from injury. He scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the game. This is his third straight 20 point game, and is averaging 23 points and about seven rebounds a game.
“He’s so difficult to stop,” Florida State head coach Luke Loucks said. “He just has a relentless motor, he has skill, he has size, he has athleticism…he’s just a heck of a player.”
The Orange also had help from their role players this game. Syracuse forward, Tyler Betsey, shared the hot hand with Freeman off the bench. He had 18 points, shooting 6-for-8 from the three-point line.
Naithan George delivered a career night as he finished with 13 assists, his most ever. He was able to find Betsey on the three-point line, as well as William Kyle III on a handful of alley-oop passes.
“Their role players do such a good job,” Loucks said. “From top to bottom, I just think their team is just well put together…I really like this kid, [Naithan] George, as a former point guard myself, I have a lot of respect for the way he plays. He glues everything together.”
Even though Syracuse was able to pull out a win against a Florida State team that competed at a high level today, the same question still rises for this team: Is this a March Madness-caliber team?
Throughout the season Syracuse basketball has struggled from the free-throw line, committed careless turnovers, and struggled to build comfortable leads against inferior opponents and maintain leads.
Florida State was 7-9 coming into this game, and hovering at the bottom of the ACC with a 0-3 record in conference play. Given Syracuse’s expectations coming into the season, this was a team that the Orange needed to beat.
So far this season, Syracuse has missed opportunities to win games by larger margins, or simply failed to win them at all.
Syracuse beat Monmouth 78-73, Saint Joseph’s 71-63 and Northeastern 91-83. The Orange lost to Hofstra 70-69, albeit on a controversial last-second no-call.
If they are only skating by these opponents, how will the game look when Syracuse plays a Duke, North Carolina, or NC State?
Nonetheless, this team has shown this season their potential, including both the highs and the lows.
Syracuse basketball has proven it can compete with and beat teams such as Houston and Tennessee. If the Orange address their weaknesses before the final stretch of the season, the consistency and likelihood of wins against teams of that caliber could rise.