Syracuse Basketball: Orange will attempt to give FSU its first home loss

Syracuse basketball is in desperate need of a signature success, and that opportunity comes Saturday afternoon against highly rated Florida State.

Syracuse basketball has a herculean challenge lurking as the Orange travels to Florida State on Saturday afternoon in must-win mode to create any sort of chance at earning an at-large berth to next month’s Big Dance.

A critical key for the ‘Cuse (14-10, 7-6), of course, is redshirt junior forward Elijah Hughes, who suffered an unfortunate injury earlier this week in Syracuse’s setback to N.C. State in the Carrier Dome.

If Hughes can’t go versus the No. 8 Seminoles (20-4, 10-3), it will prove extremely challenging for the Orange to knock off Florida State, which is a stellar 12-0 to date in the 2019-20 campaign when competing on its own turf.

Presently at No. 15 in the NCAA NET system and projected as a No. 3 seed in March Madness by bracketologists, the Seminoles are a polar-opposite crew to the ‘Cuse in one pivotal aspect.

Syracuse, hampered by injuries, possesses quite a thin bench, while Florida State, situated at third place in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, boasts 10 guys who average at least 10 minutes of run per affair. That’s huge.

Let’s review the Seminoles’ resume at this juncture in 2019-20. Florida State beat ACC leader Louisville by 13 points on the road, which is a splendid achievement. The Seminoles also have defeated the likes of Florida, Tennessee, Purdue, Clemson, Virginia, Notre Dame, and Virginia Tech.

Conversely, Florida State has lost at Pittsburgh by two points, at Indiana by 16 points, at UVA by five points and at No. 7 Duke, also by five points. All in all, the Seminoles are performing at a strong level in the current stanza.

From a statistical perspective, Florida State is averaging 75.1 points a game and allowing just 65.1 points. The Seminoles connect on 45.7 percent from the field, an impressive 76.9 percent from the charity stripe, and a solid 35.8 percent from beyond the arc.

A pair of areas where the Orange could capitalize is in rebounding and turnovers. Florida State only snags 34.3 boards every 40 minutes, and the Seminoles commit 13.3 miscues per contest. On the flip side, the ‘Cuse will have to take care of the ball with precision, as Florida State generates 9.3 steals per encounter.

The Seminoles have prevailed in their two most recent meetings with Syracuse, and the Orange must put forth an exquisite showing if it wants to upset Florida State in Tallahassee.