FSU 85 Syracuse 69 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Good
FSU improves to 12-7 overall, 6-2 ACC. That is six wins in their last seven games. Coming into the game, Syracuse led the series 10-6. Make that 10-7 and is the third win in a row by the Seminoles over the 'Cuse. Coming into the game, Syracuse was 9-0 at home this season. Make that 9-1. Coming into the game, the 'Cuse were 4 point favs to win the game. DOH!!!!!
In a game that was eerily too similar to FSU's last game vs Clemson, the 'Noles turned on the switch and leveled Syracuse on its home court leading by as many as 20 points. The first half saw FSU leading the Orange 23-16. Then what was very similar to the Clemson game, the lead evaporated eventually trailing 36-35 at the half. Looking for a strong start to the final period, the 'Noles were anything but as Leonard Hamilton had to call timeout (he called it a "friendly meeting on the sideline") 1:45 into the second half. Hamilton called it a "sluggish start". But it was not looking good for FSU. The lecture on the sideline did not seem to help as the Seminoles trailed by 7 points, 44-37. Somehow FSU hung in there. Well, actually that somehow was Syracuse missing a whole bunch of FTs. Judah Mintz averages 81% from the line but missed 5 straight freebies at one point in the game. FSU led 59-58 with 8:48 to play. FSU flipped the switch at that point and simply imposed their will over the 'Cuse. By the time three minutes elapsed, the 'Noles led by ten, 72-62. And it was all from turning defense into offense as points were piled up via numerous forced turnovers and runouts. Syracuse tried the full court press on several possessions but FSU beat that tactic easily every time. With 1:31 remaining, FSU held a commanding 85-65 lead. Key in the game was the 'Noles avoiding fouling Syracuse. That allowed the Seminoles to flex their defensive muscles rather than standing around the FT lane. And boy, did they flex their defensive muscle. It was one runout fast break after another for about three minutes as the game approached its end.
A quality win on the road against a Quad 1 team by a substantial margin is a big resume builder for a NCAA tournament resume.
Player of the game: Jamir Watkins with a career high 27 points on 8-15 shooting and 9 of 12 at the line. He made it a double with 11 boards. It was all Watkins for much of the first 10 or so minutes of the game.
Primo Spears with a season high in assists (6) and added 11 points as well from off the bench.
Darin Green now with 49 of his 51 games at FSU scoring at least one three pointer. It wasn't a great shooting night for Darin, but he did have a team high 4 of FSU's 10 steals.
Baba Miller and Cam Corhen each added 12 points.
Plays of the game: Darin Green with the three from 30 feet. Taylor Bol Bowen getting out on the shooter to block the three point attempt. FSU's full press that forces a ten second violation by the 'Cuse, 26-26. Watkins with the slam off an assist from Warley to pull FSU to within one, 54-53. Corhen with the layup off an assist from Spears, 55-54. Immediately after, Watkins' slam off the lob by Spears, 57-54. Warley's 25 foot outlet pass ignited the break. Watkins with the slam driving the left baseline all alone when the defender tried to make the steal and whiffed. Darin Green's steal and coast to coast slam dunk. Darin breaking the zone defense Syracuse slapped on with the three from the left corner, 70-62. Warley steals the ball and gets it to Miller for the coast to coast layup, 72-62. The 'Cuse throws ona full court press only to have it solved with Warley finding Corhen all alone under the basket for the dunk, 74-62. Spears, with the shot clock running out, drives the lane. Confronted by a defender and hanging in the air, he moves the ball from his right hand to his left and flips the ball in, 78-63.
From the 6:57 mark of the second period, Syracuse scored exactly one FG. And that was with 1:03 left and the outcome long since decided.
The Bad
Remember that steal and fast break slam by Darin Green? Syracuse answered right away as Mintz took it from end to end for the drive down the lane and finished with the slam. The FSU defense was totally on its heels on that play. The basket closed the gap to 63-60.
With a 3 on 2 break, Spears apparently thought launching a long three point attempt was the better option. We say attempt because he was off the mark and instead Corhen picked up a foul. The two charity shots put Syracuse back in the lead 54-53.
I have no idea what the refs saw when they reviewed Miller's goal tending call. But it sure looked like the ball was still on the way up when he blocked the shot. But we know refs never make a mistake. Right?
The Ugly
2-15 as in Bol Bowen's three point stat recording yet another attempt tonight that missed its mark badly.
FT disparity and man was it disparate. At the half FSU had attempted eight FTs. The 'Cuse had 19. That is apparently something they do well against ACC teams when playing them at home. Must be something in the water.
Even worse than Mintz slicing through the defense was Malik Brown's fast break lay up. Not one Seminole made an attempt to get back and defend.
A 3 on 1 break that blew up when Miller lost control of the ball that sailed OB.
Up Next
The Seminoles will look for payback when they host UNC on Saturday at 2 PM. In the game back on Dec 2nd, FSU led by 14 a quarter of the way through the second half. FSU ended up losing that game 78-70. The #3 ranked Tar Heels (16-3, 8-0) have won 9 consecutive games. All have been by double digits with the latest victory an 85-64 win over Wake Forest.
The Good
FSU improves to 12-7 overall, 6-2 ACC. That is six wins in their last seven games. Coming into the game, Syracuse led the series 10-6. Make that 10-7 and is the third win in a row by the Seminoles over the 'Cuse. Coming into the game, Syracuse was 9-0 at home this season. Make that 9-1. Coming into the game, the 'Cuse were 4 point favs to win the game. DOH!!!!!
In a game that was eerily too similar to FSU's last game vs Clemson, the 'Noles turned on the switch and leveled Syracuse on its home court leading by as many as 20 points. The first half saw FSU leading the Orange 23-16. Then what was very similar to the Clemson game, the lead evaporated eventually trailing 36-35 at the half. Looking for a strong start to the final period, the 'Noles were anything but as Leonard Hamilton had to call timeout (he called it a "friendly meeting on the sideline") 1:45 into the second half. Hamilton called it a "sluggish start". But it was not looking good for FSU. The lecture on the sideline did not seem to help as the Seminoles trailed by 7 points, 44-37. Somehow FSU hung in there. Well, actually that somehow was Syracuse missing a whole bunch of FTs. Judah Mintz averages 81% from the line but missed 5 straight freebies at one point in the game. FSU led 59-58 with 8:48 to play. FSU flipped the switch at that point and simply imposed their will over the 'Cuse. By the time three minutes elapsed, the 'Noles led by ten, 72-62. And it was all from turning defense into offense as points were piled up via numerous forced turnovers and runouts. Syracuse tried the full court press on several possessions but FSU beat that tactic easily every time. With 1:31 remaining, FSU held a commanding 85-65 lead. Key in the game was the 'Noles avoiding fouling Syracuse. That allowed the Seminoles to flex their defensive muscles rather than standing around the FT lane. And boy, did they flex their defensive muscle. It was one runout fast break after another for about three minutes as the game approached its end.
A quality win on the road against a Quad 1 team by a substantial margin is a big resume builder for a NCAA tournament resume.
Player of the game: Jamir Watkins with a career high 27 points on 8-15 shooting and 9 of 12 at the line. He made it a double with 11 boards. It was all Watkins for much of the first 10 or so minutes of the game.
Primo Spears with a season high in assists (6) and added 11 points as well from off the bench.
Darin Green now with 49 of his 51 games at FSU scoring at least one three pointer. It wasn't a great shooting night for Darin, but he did have a team high 4 of FSU's 10 steals.
Baba Miller and Cam Corhen each added 12 points.
Plays of the game: Darin Green with the three from 30 feet. Taylor Bol Bowen getting out on the shooter to block the three point attempt. FSU's full press that forces a ten second violation by the 'Cuse, 26-26. Watkins with the slam off an assist from Warley to pull FSU to within one, 54-53. Corhen with the layup off an assist from Spears, 55-54. Immediately after, Watkins' slam off the lob by Spears, 57-54. Warley's 25 foot outlet pass ignited the break. Watkins with the slam driving the left baseline all alone when the defender tried to make the steal and whiffed. Darin Green's steal and coast to coast slam dunk. Darin breaking the zone defense Syracuse slapped on with the three from the left corner, 70-62. Warley steals the ball and gets it to Miller for the coast to coast layup, 72-62. The 'Cuse throws ona full court press only to have it solved with Warley finding Corhen all alone under the basket for the dunk, 74-62. Spears, with the shot clock running out, drives the lane. Confronted by a defender and hanging in the air, he moves the ball from his right hand to his left and flips the ball in, 78-63.
From the 6:57 mark of the second period, Syracuse scored exactly one FG. And that was with 1:03 left and the outcome long since decided.
The Bad
Remember that steal and fast break slam by Darin Green? Syracuse answered right away as Mintz took it from end to end for the drive down the lane and finished with the slam. The FSU defense was totally on its heels on that play. The basket closed the gap to 63-60.
With a 3 on 2 break, Spears apparently thought launching a long three point attempt was the better option. We say attempt because he was off the mark and instead Corhen picked up a foul. The two charity shots put Syracuse back in the lead 54-53.
I have no idea what the refs saw when they reviewed Miller's goal tending call. But it sure looked like the ball was still on the way up when he blocked the shot. But we know refs never make a mistake. Right?
The Ugly
2-15 as in Bol Bowen's three point stat recording yet another attempt tonight that missed its mark badly.
FT disparity and man was it disparate. At the half FSU had attempted eight FTs. The 'Cuse had 19. That is apparently something they do well against ACC teams when playing them at home. Must be something in the water.
Even worse than Mintz slicing through the defense was Malik Brown's fast break lay up. Not one Seminole made an attempt to get back and defend.
A 3 on 1 break that blew up when Miller lost control of the ball that sailed OB.
Up Next
The Seminoles will look for payback when they host UNC on Saturday at 2 PM. In the game back on Dec 2nd, FSU led by 14 a quarter of the way through the second half. FSU ended up losing that game 78-70. The #3 ranked Tar Heels (16-3, 8-0) have won 9 consecutive games. All have been by double digits with the latest victory an 85-64 win over Wake Forest.
