Syracuse basketball over FSU ‘tremendous character win’ – Jim Boeheim

This season’s Syracuse basketball roster has loads of shooters, even if they struggled for long stretches on Saturday night down in Tallahassee, Fla., against one of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s premier teams, Florida State.

But entering this battle, the Orange’s first in ACC competition, the ‘Cuse had been significantly struggling on defense, and the overwhelming observation from pundits and fans alike is that the 2021-22 roster lacks athleticism.

That may be true, and whether Syracuse basketball can make a serious run at a Big Dance berth remains unclear, however, one thing I feel confident in saying is that this squad has grit, heart and toughness.

Orange players aren’t backing down from anybody, even if opponents seemingly possess more athleticism and “talent” than the ‘Cuse. I admire that. I hope my fellow ‘Cuse fanatics do as well.

Syracuse basketball fought and fought and fought versus Florida State.

Against the Seminoles, a group that won the ACC two years ago and finished second last season, the Orange couldn’t hit anything from the field in the first half.

The team found itself down eight points at halftime to a foe that has rarely fallen at home in recent stanzas. The outlook looked a bit dire, in my humble opinion.

But the ‘Cuse (5-3, 1-0) made a key defensive adjustment, and the Orange started connecting on shots from the perimeter, while also scoring more inside.

However, even after Syracuse basketball erased its deficit and built a double-digit lead with about five minutes to go, Florida State stormed back to within one point.

The home-court crowd was loud. The momentum was with FSU. With the odds stacked against the ‘Cuse, the Orange hung tough and didn’t fold. It translated into a massive 63-60 conquest of the Seminoles on the road.

To me, it displayed the fight and toughness of this Syracuse basketball roster. And head coach Jim Boeheim, in his post-game press conference, echoed those sentiments.

"According to Boeheim’s comments, as noted in an article by SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister, the ‘Cuse head coach called his squad’s defeat of Florida State a “tremendous character win here to hang in at the end. … Gutty win. Really hard win here.”"

Boeheim added that over the past few campaigns, the Seminoles (5-3, 0-1) have proven a top-10 team, and their pressure defense is excellent. “You’re down eight on the road and you come back and take a lead like that, that’s hard to do.”

So whether the Orange’s flaws are too much to overcome throughout the 2021-22 term will be debated and discussed. But against Florida State, in a hostile environment, the ‘Cuse took care of business. I’m quite proud of the Orange for achieving that.