Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Syracuse Looks to Keep it Rolling Against Florida State

Syracuse University Athletics
/
Cuse.com

The streaking Syracuse Orange (16-8 overall, 6-5 ACC) play another critical ACC matchup against the Florida State Seminoles (16-7, 6-5) Thursday at the Carrier Dome. The Orange will be looking for its fourth straight conference win after starting the season 0-4 in the ACC.

Who’s Hot- Michael Gbinije

The senior guard does it all for the Orange. He has the ball in his hands the majority of the time, running the offense almost all the time. He also has a flair for the dramatics, as shown by his game tying three at the end of the Virginia Tech game that forced overtime. Gbinije has been playing especially well lately, scoring more than 15 points or more in all of his last four games. He has also cut down on his turnovers after having three consecutive games with four.

“It’s a big shot. That’s a real big shot,” SU coach Jim Boeheim said. “You know really good players make those shots. He made it and got us going to overtime."

Who’s Not- Shooting

Earlier in the year, if the Orange wanted to win, they needed to stroke it from three-point range. As the old saying goes, “live by the three and die by the three.” The Orange have continued to win despite their plummeting three-point statistics.

Over its last five games, the Orange have shot 39%, 42%, 46%, 39% and 35%. Now, they have been able to win all but one of those games, but if they want to continue their tournament push, they will have to shoot the ball better.

FSU Scores the Rock

The Seminoles—winners of their last four and six of their last eight—are a team that likes to score the rock. They are tied for the third highest scoring team in the conference, averaging 79 points-per-game. Like the Orange, there is a substantial drop-off after their top-four leading scorers. Their leading scorers, Malik Beasley and Dwayne Bacon, are two of the better freshman in the country, and they know how to score the ball.

Credit Syracuse University Athletics / Cuse.com
/
Cuse.com
Tyler Lydon will need to be a huge factor against Florida State if the Orange want to come up victorious.

Key Matchup- Frontcourt battle

Both teams have similar strengths: their guards. Those players are likely to wash each other out. With that being said, the frontcourt players are going to decide this game. For SU, if DaJuan Coleman and Tyler Lydon can continue to build off of their recent strong performances, SU should be able win this pivotal ACC game.

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.