FSU basketball: Noles avenge previous loss against Syracuse Orange

FSU basketball (10-5, 4-2 ACC) went on the road and avenged a previous loss against the Syracuse Orange (8-9, 2-4 ACC) Saturday afternoon. The 76-71 win is the third consecutive win for the Noles after a blowout loss against Wake Forest.

It was a game of momentum swings with both teams overcoming large deficits with good three-point shooting. FSU overcame a nine point deficit on two different occasions in the first half. However, the roles reversed from the previous game when FSU couldn’t buy a three-point bucket.

FSU was 12-20 from the three-point range and shot 54.9 percent from the floor overall, which is a huge improvement over the 35 percent shooting outing in the first matchup. The win is even more impressive, considering the Noles played without starter Malik Osborne.

FSU trailed 37-36 at halftime but led the majority of the second half aside from Syracuse leading by three points for about a three-minute span about mid-way through the second half.

Caleb Mills led the Noles with 19 points and five assists.

RayQuan Evans made some huge shots, including two huge three-pointers to finish with 15 points and five assists.

Anthony Polite chipped in with seven points and seven rebounds. Matthew Cleveland had nine points, and Wyatt Wilkes finally came alive from three-point land to finish with 11 points. He was 3 of 6 from beyond the arc.

FSU basketball only had 10 turnovers and held the Orange well below their season scoring average. Syracuse shot 47 percent from the floor and were 7 of 17 from three-point land. In the end, FSU’s three-point shooting and overall offensive efficiency were the difference in the game.

Final Thoughts

FSU basketball seems to have found some chemistry in the last few games, and some players are doing a better job of playing respective roles on the team.

Caleb Mills and Anthony Polite have become more assertive, and Matthew Cleveland has filled the patented freshman sixth man off the bench role. The Noles will host No. 8 Duke Tuesday at 9 p.m. in what will be a great test to see how far the Noles have come from earlier in the season