FSU Basketball: 5 questions with Syracuse experts

FSU basketball will look to get back on the winning side of things as they host Syracuse Saturday afternoon.

FSU basketball (12-4)will host the Syracuse Orange (12-5) Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the Tucker Center. Both teams are coming into the game (1-3) in ACC play with the ‘Noles blowing a huge second half lead against Louisville in their last outing.

We have a great network at FanSided and were fortunate enough to speak with our Syracuse experts about the matchup. Please check out five questions we asked Paul Esden Jr. of Insidetheloudhouse.com

Q&A

CC: Both FSU and Syracuse have gotten off to (1-3) starts in ACC play. All of Syracuse’s losses have come by a combined 15 points. What’s been the biggest difference in winning and losing these games for you guys?

ILH: The battle of the boards had been dominated by the Orange before conference play began. So much so that the legendary Jim Boeheim said this was the best rebounding team since Derrick Coleman. Then a month later Boeheim flipped the script and said that the rebounding was a myth. So outside of the head coach having some bi-polar tendencies with his evaluation of this team, the real reason is offense. We all knew that this would be a different beast offensively speaking. Last year this team had multiple three-point artists: Tyler Lydon, John Gillon, and Andrew White III who shattered some long-standing records. While this year’s team just is inept offensively. The defense is there, but if the team can’t score consistently (as they’ve shown in conference play) they’re going to continue to be in serious trouble.

CC: Offensively, who are the players FSU fans should be aware of and are there any perceived advantages you can take advantage up matchup wise?

ILH: There is a big three at Syracuse: the Canadian Sensation (Oshae Brissett), Frank Howard (veteran presence on this team), and finally the future NBA’er in Tyus Battle. Brissett is a freshman who rebounds better than expected, can creatively attack the rim, and has the ability to stroke it from deep. Howard is a turnover machine (he leads the league in that category), but he has spurts where he can really light it up from downtown. While plugged in-Battle is nearly unstoppable. He has NBA moves in his arsenal (step back jumper, mid-range game, etc). The problem offensively is the stagnant play. This team had 3 assists on 23 baskets, that’s horrible. SU needs some ball movement and that’ll lead to less turnovers and more creativity.

CC: Prior to the last couple of games FSU had been lighting it up from the floor and from three-point land. How do you feel Syracuse matches up with the ‘Noles on defense? What is Cuse going to have to do to be effective there?

ILH: The 2-3 zone speaks for itself. While there are pros and cons, one of the cons is allowing an inordinate amount of shots from beyond the arc. Three points are worth more than two points, but it’s harder to shoot from that faraway in theory. So SU is going to keep a tight locked in zone that plays closer to the basket to almost dare the Seminoles to shoot from deep. If they start to have success, SU will adapt to the situation. Another important factoid is when SU gets a stop defensively to push it up the floor and attack in transition. That could be the real difference in this game.

CC: Both teams are averaging around 40 rebounds per game. FSU has struggled here at times this year.  Syracuse doesn’t shoot the ball particularly well as a team. Do they crash the offensive boards hard? If so, who are the players to be on the lookout for?

ILH: Paschal Chukwu is coming off a career-high rebounding effort (16 rebounds) and he’s quite literally the biggest player in Syracuse history. They dominated this category earlier this season, but lately have fallen off. A big reason is because of limited depth (six man rotation). That’s kind of where it starts and ends.

Although on the bench, in emergency situations is freshman Bourama Sidibe but he’s been a defensive liability and just is hobbled by a variety of injuries. We’ve also got some European flavor in Marek Dolezaj who is a frisky competitor and a feisty rebounder, but his playing time has been inconsistent over the last several weeks, despite depth issues. An interesting factoid I saw was FSU lost these past two games while dominating the rebounding margin, so perhaps that isn’t as big of a factor, but I think it is for SU in terms of their second chance opportunities. Crash the offensive glass and fight for those extra chances.

CC: Score Prediction for the game and why?

ILH: FSU is dangerous for all the reasons we’ve discussed. But SU is dangerous because they’re desperate. Their backs are against the wall and they need this one badly. This is going to sound biasd, but I think the Orange pull out all the stops and find a way to take this key ACC game on the road. One of the big three that we mentioned earlier has to go off, have one of those big games we know they’re capable of but haven’t seen so far this season. If that happens it can open other opportunities for some of the ancillary pieces on the Orange roster like Matthew Moyer or even Chukwu. SU wins 77-73.

Next: Terrance Mann Likely Out With A Concussion

Thoughts

There you have it ladies and gentlemen. We did this Q&A before it was known Terrance Mann could miss the game with a concussion, but it’s still pertinent info about what this Syracuse team brings to the table. Thanks to Paul for taking the time to speak with us!