FSU Basketball: ‘Noles Travel to Syracuse After Tough Loss
By Frank Urbina
FSU basketball, fresh off a humiliating loss in Atlanta, travels to Syracuse with redemption on their mind.
FSU basketball’s last road game didn’t exactly go as planned. Double-digit favorites in Atlanta, facing the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the Seminoles laid an egg. They failed to execute on offense and defense, their effort lacked passion, and all-in-all, it was just a forgettable showing.
But that’s okay. Florida State had just finished a brutal stretch of games, and maybe a poor showing should have been expected. And the Jackets did pull off a similar upset to open conference play against the UNC Tar Heels. So, time to move on. At this point, it’s all about how Florida State responds to getting punched in the mouth for a full 40 minutes.
The loss moved FSU from a one-seed to a two-seed on Lunardi’s bracketology. Their offense plummeted from 23rd on KenPom to 31st. According to Team Rankings, the Seminoles have just a four percent chance of earning a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, they face a trip to the Carrier Dome to face the Syracuse Orange. The Orange have yet to lose a home game in conference play (though they have lost every road game in ACC play). This may not be a usual Jim Boeheim Syrcuse team. They have struggled mightily this season. Meaning the Seminoles have a solid chance to get the taste from Wednesday’s game out of their mouth.
So let’s get to it, and preview the showdown against the Orange of Syracuse.
Last Time the ‘Noles Took the Court
Already talked about it, but quickly, let’s relive what happened. Florida State came out flat. On offense, nothing was going down. It’s not as if they were missing good looks either. They often settled, doing a bad job of getting into their offense. They were down 40-15 at halftime.
The defense was probably even worse. At least it can be said that GT has been a solid defensive team all season. But their offense ranked in the 200’s going into this game. So when Josh Okogie, a freshman, scored 35 points on 17 shots, huge sirens of alarm started going off (in my head). Let’s just chalk it up a letdown game, and never discuss it again. (Though if this is the start of a losing streak, I will be discussing this game as the starting point. Often.)
Opponent Preview
The Orange have had a rough year. They come into their matchup against Florida State with a 12-9 record, and are 4-4 in conference play. Their struggles may be tied to recent NCAA sanctions, brought upon due to the discovery that they were paying players in the late 2000’s.
According to KenPom, Syracuse is the 58th-best team in the country. They are 51st in offense and 104th in defense. That defense, the vaunted Syracuse 2-3 zone, will still cause problems for the Seminoles. And the fact that the game is in the Carrier Dome will not do much to alleviate concerns. Look for Dwayne Bacon to be aggressive in an attempt to get out of his recent funk. His last six games have been poor, especially by his standards. PJ Savoy will also play a huge part in this game, for obvious reasons. His shooting against a zone will be vitally important.
The Orangemen to look out for are Andrew White and Tyler Lydon. The latter will be a mid-first round pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Lydon is a stretch-4, who averages 14 points and eight rebounds. He shoots 44 percent from three, and 82 percent from the line.
White, meanwhile, is a former blue-chip recruit. Out of high school, he signed with Kansas. After two forgettable seasons, he transferred to Nebraska. So Syracuse is actually his third, and (probably) final stop in college. He’s a guard with good size (6-foot-7), scoring 16 points per game. He shoots 41 percent from three, and 80 percent from the foul-line. If FSU gives an effort like they gave against the Yellow Jackets, he’ll go for 40. (Okay, that was the last time I bring that game up. I promise).
Point Spread/How to Watch
Florida State heads to northern New York as a -2 point favorite over Syracuse (according to Vegas Insider).
To watch this game, all you have to do is tune in to ESPN2 at noon. Let’s see if Florida State can respond to that humiliating loss, and get themselves back in the drivers seat for the regular season ACC title. Go ‘Noles.