Syracuse Basketball: FSU provides stiff reality check in big win over SU

The Syracuse basketball squad got a stiff punch in the mouth from the Florida State Seminoles in the Carrier Dome on Tuesday night.

The Syracuse basketball squad was hoping to improve upon their impressive ACC record, the Florida State Seminoles had other plans. Here’s how it all went down:

Syracuse’s first score of the game came on a feed to Oshae Brissett driving inside, he saw things were covered kicked out to a wide open Elijah Hughes who drilled the three point attempt.

But (no pun intended) a BIG key for this game heading into was the battle on the inside between Paschal Chukwu and Christ Koumadje. From what we heard from Seminole insiders leading up to the game, Koumadje has an edge to him that is uncommon among big men.

While for the Orange Chukwu comes off super passive-aggressive and is reserved. This seemed like a recipe for disaster, yet to start off this game Chukwu bullied Christ on a rebound and seemed to show some intensity to start this game.

Speaking of intensity, Elijah Hughes has started to make a name for himself as a dynamic blocker and his reputation apparently didn’t precede him early in the first half when he sent a weak FSU attempt into a different stratosphere.

Scary moment for Hughes with just around 15 minutes remaining in the first half. On what appeared to be an easy transition slam for Hughes, he either slipped on the court or suffered some kind of injury (possible rolled ankle) on his attempt down the court. Marek Dolezaj was put into the game in his place.

After just a few minutes Hughes came back in the game and didn’t appear to be bothered by the slip which was a really good sign.

FSU continued some hot shooting from outside (5-of-6) to start the game which gave them a 19-9 edge with 12 minutes and change remaining. MJ Walker (3-of-3) from beyond the arc at this point is someone who didn’t necessarily register on the scouting report heading into this game, but maybe should’ve. Walker entered the game as a 37 percent shooter from long range.

But something that was even harder to swallow came when the refs missed what appeared to be a blatant shot clock violation. After multiple opportunities the Seminoles eventually converted which appeared to send the crowd into a frenzy and gave reinvigorated life to the Seminoles as they extended their lead to 26-10 with under 10 minutes remaining.

Throw in a four point play and things really seemed to be getting out of control for Syracuse with the lead ballooning to 30-12 just a few moments later.

Things started to look grim and then Syracuse’s caped crusader Tyus Battle came to the rescue to try to keep the Orange afloat. With back-to-back buckets and some help from some of the rest of the crew SU went on a 7-0 run to narrow the gap to 36-21 with four minutes and change remaining in the first stanza.

That run would continue with Syracuse going on a 17-4 run to close the half. Which made it a 39-31 ballgame officially. Battle finished the first half of play with 16 points (which led both sides), no other Syracuse player finished in double figures.

To think how this game was looking early for the Orange to not only narrow the gap, but to get it within 10 points is remarkable. It defies logic, but somehow the Orange can continue to dig themselves in holes at the beginnings of games and somehow fight back and make it a game when it shouldn’t be.

First half takeaways: 

• Syracuse was abysmal from beyond the arc (3-of-14), but those three pointers came at critical moments during the game to get the Orange back in it.
• While conversely the Seminoles were red smoking hot (8-of-13). Throughout their 2018-19 season they’ve been a very streaky three point shooting team, fair to say they woke up on the right side of the bed this morning in the salt city.
• The battle of the boards was even-steven after the first half at 18 a piece, whoever wins this battle will likely win the game.
• Finally bad ball movement from Syracuse (only four assists as team in the first half) that has to change to get better looks for the SU shooters.

Second half

The hotness continued with Brissett getting back to that mid-range jumper making it a 39-33 game.

An issue though was silly turnovers for the Orange with dropped rebounds, fumbling easy pass attempts and giving the Seminoles multiple second chance opportunities.

Frank Howard after a mistake was quickly hooked at the beginning of the second half for Buddy Boeheim, he was visibly frustrated heading to the bench for the Orange.

Speaking of Buddy, he proved he’s more then just a three point shooter getting three baskets all within the three point line to give the Orange a nice punch off the bench.

The Orange closed the gap to as little as a single point thanks to a collection of Orange helpers as they continued to show fight throughout this second half.

It seemed like every time Syracuse punched the Seminoles, they traded right back with an uppercut. A big moment late in the second half was Elijah Hughes being fouled at the three point arc and with ice cold blood running through his veins drilled all three of his attempts. Making it a 55-52 edge with just over nine minutes remaining in the second half.

To reiterate, every time SU threw a punch, the Seminoles retaliated with a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 10 (62-52) with 7:34 remaining in the second half.

It only got worse from there with Syracuse allowing the bleeding to continue. The press worked in bits, but overall provided far too many open opportunities for the Seminoles to capitalize on. Arguably FSU has not just the deepest bench in the ACC but arguably in all of college hoops, that was evident in this 80-62 win over the Orange.

Second half takeaways: 

• Tyus Battle hit the 20 point barometer for the 11th time this season (Battle finished with 23 points).
• Oshae Brissett notched his sixth double-double of the season (finishing with 16 points and 12 boards).
• The Orange forced 21 turnovers in this game, I guess that 2-3 zone works after-all. But on the other end, Syracuse had too many dumb ones themselves which neutralized the advantage their defense created finishing with 16.
• FSU shot well from deep (11-of-22) and SU struggled to the tune of 5-of-20 from long range.
• While the final assists number were putrid, FSU (25) and SU (7).

Up next for the Orange they continue their homestand with their second rematch of the season, this time vs the Boston College Eagles. In the first matchup, the Orange won on the road 77-71, this time the game will be played in the Carrier Dome with tipoff set for 2:00 p.m.