Toward the tail end of the 2024-25 regular season, Syracuse basketball let several second-half, double-digit leads slip away.
The Orange, in the ACC Tournament's first round on Tuesday night in Charlotte, N.C., built up an edge as big as 50-34 over the No. 11 seed, Florida State, in the second half. Then, the Seminoles started to chip away at the 'Cuse lead.
Yet Syracuse basketball, the No. 14 seed in this annual event, didn't wither away down the stretch. Sure, the Orange could have made things easier for itself by making more free throws versus FSU. Either way, the 'Cuse did just enough to walk away with a 66-62 victory over the Seminoles, ending the storied tenure of Florida State's long-time head coach, Leonard Hamilton, who is retiring.
ORANGE ADVANCE! 🍊🙌 pic.twitter.com/52bMXtJlrZ
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) March 12, 2025
With this triumph, Syracuse basketball (14-18 overall) advances to face No. 6 seed SMU on Wednesday evening. I'm proud of our boys in Orange for how they battled against - and ultimately prevailed over - FSU.
This outcome gave Syracuse basketball its first win on a neutral floor so far in the 2024-25 campaign. The Orange improved to 11-8 in its all-time series with the Seminoles, and the 'Cuse is now 2-6 in quadrant-two affairs this term as far as the NCAA NET rankings are concerned.
Syracuse basketball got back at Florida State after losing at FSU earlier this stanza.
On Tuesday night, the Orange was dreadful from 3-point range and the free-throw line, although the 'Cuse did make 44 percent from the field as a whole. Florida State was also sub-par from downtown, yet the Seminoles were a bit better from the charity stripe.
Syracuse basketball led 42-32 on the glass and 44-32 in paint points. Turnovers were about the same for each group. The Orange committed 11 mistakes, as compared to 10 for Florida State, with the Seminoles leading 11-6 in points off turnovers.
Most other statistical categories were relatively even, save for bench points. FSU had a 26-4 edge in that department.
Individually speaking, junior guard J.J. Starling was on fire in the second half and finished with a game-high 27 points on 12-of-23 from the field. Graduate student center Eddie Lampkin Jr. and senior forward Jyare Davis each tallied 14 points, while senior point guard Jaquan Carlos chipped in five points, eight rebounds and two assists.
Just over a week ago, in Dallas, the Orange was up by 12 points in the second half at SMU, but the Mustangs ended up winning by a final count of 77-75. Let's see if the 'Cuse can exact revenge against SMU on Wednesday evening, much as Syracuse basketball did versus Florida State the night before.