Orange Knocks off Rust to Cruise Past Florida State

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Despite not having played in more than a week, the Syracuse Orange men showed few signs of sluggishness, especially on offense, as they dominated the Florida State Seminoles 85-72 Thursday night at the Carrier Dome.

The Orange (17-8, 7-5 ACC) has now won four in a row and seven of their last eight. The Seminoles (16-8, 6-6 ACC) four-game winning streak came to an end.

Offense was the order of the night as both teams consistently executed on that side of the ball. Syracuse’s 85 points marked its highest output of the season.

“This was our most patient offensive game,” Orange coach Jim Boeheim said. “We were patient and we kept waiting until we got a good situation, a good drive situation.”

Michael Gbinije led all scorers with 22 points, shooting seven of eight from the field and four of five from three.

First Half Fireworks

The Orange came out red-hot to start the game, making seven of its first nine shots from the field. However, the Seminoles kept pace thanks to good shooting of their own as well as eleven Syracuse first half turnovers.

“The first half we played as well as we could play on offense,” Boeheim said. “We gave them a couple things on defense, and it was anybody’s game.”

Florida State was led in the first half by freshmen Malik Beasley (11 points) and Dwayne Bacon (10). The two first-year players have been integral to FSU’s success this year. Syracuse freshman Malachi Richardson said that there is a desire among the younger players to prove themselves to each other.

“I think it’s competition between everyone,” Richardson said. “Between the seniors who want to get player of the year like Mike [Gbinije] and Trev [Trevor Cooney] and freshmen that want to get ACC player of the year.”

Coleman Spurs Second Half Surge

After coming out of halftime with a 42-39 lead, the Orange was sparked by a tremendous stretch by DaJuan Coleman. In the span of about two minutes and change, Coleman recorded six points, a rebound, a steal and an assist. That burst sparked a 13-1 Syracuse run to start the half.

“I think the fact that he got six straight points and we went up nine or 10 was enough of an effect,” Boeheim said. “He had a big effect on the game.”

After shooting nearly 60 percent from the field in the first half, the Orange actually shot even better in the second half, finishing the game 31 of 50 from the field (62%) and eight of 17 from three-point range (47%).

Boeheim, however, pointed to the defense as to how the Orange was able to pull away in the second half.

“We were a little bit better on the three-point shooters… and we rebounded better,” Boeheim said. “Most of their buckets in the first half came on four or five offensive rebound baskets. We just stopped that and stopped the three-point shots.”

Padding the Resume

The Orange’s victory was yet another addition to its increasingly impressive resume for the NCAA Tournament. Syracuse and Florida State came into the contest tied in the conference, with both teams hovering around the dreaded tournament "bubble."

“We’ve beaten four or five teams in the top 30 in the country, so we’ve done some pretty good things,” Boeheim said.

The players feel confident that their recent play has been enough to place themselves firmly back in the national conversation.

“Obviously we’re feeling really good about ourselves but we realize that we’ve got to come out every night to play,” Tyler Lydon said. “We’ve just got to show up, be aggressive and play our game.”

Game Notes

Along with Gbinije, Richardson (17 points), Lydon (15) and Cooney (10) finished in double figures. Lydon added 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.

The game wasn’t nearly as close as the score might suggest. At one point the Orange was up 85-61 and clearly eased off the gas as in the late stages.

A crowd announced at over 22,000 braved a frigid February evening in Syracuse to cheer on the Orange. When asked about the weather after the game, Boeheim didn’t see what all the fuss was about.

“It was a nice day in Syracuse,” Boeheim said. “As long as we’re playing good basketball our fans are going to come out.”

Up Next

The Orange will get ready to head to Chestnut Hill, Mass. to take on the Boston College Eagles (7-17, 0-11 ACC) on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 1:00 p.m. The game will be available on the ACC Network.

Syracuse beat BC 62-40 at the Dome on Jan. 13.