Our beat writers unanimously pick Syracuse to defeat struggling Florida State
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Syracuse ended a three-game losing streak with a nine-point road win over Boston College on Saturday. Jesse Edwards poured in 27 points, becoming a dominant scorer in the second half, and Judah Mintz and Joe Girard III combined for another 33. Despite shooting only 4-for-14 from 3-point range, the Orange shot over 51% from the field, putting up the most points since January 21 against Georgia Tech.
Next up for SU is a midweek trip to Florida State, which has struggled this year to the tune of an 8-16 overall record, but has also gone 6-7 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Seminoles also just ended a three-game losing streak by beating Louisville this past weekend. Wednesday’s game is one of just three Syracuse has left on the road this season, with upcoming trips to Clemson on Feb. 22 and Pitt on Feb. 25.
Here’s what our beat writers predict will happen when Syracuse and Florida State face off on Wednesday night:
Anish Vasudevan (19-5)
Jesse’s bag
Syracuse 78, Florida State 67
Edwards had years of experience playing one-on-one against BC’s Quentin Post in the Netherlands, but his offensive performance on Saturday night was one that even perplexed Jim Boeheim, who had never seen Edwards hit some of the shots he made in practice. His play, matched with Mintz’s fourth-quarter resurgence, will give the Orange enough momentum to defeat the Seminoles in their first and only matchup this season.
Florida State doesn’t pose much of an offensive threat, but it has a weapon from deep in Darin Green Jr., who could be lethal against Syracuse. His 72 3-pointers are second-best in the ACC and five more than what Girard has produced this season. Green can’t be left open like Virginia Tech’s Hunter Cattoor was a few games ago, meaning that the Orange can’t converge too much on passes to the inside. The Seminoles have the second tallest team in the country, meaning they’re going to attack Edwards with their size. But he was as solid on the defensive end as he was offensively in Boston.
This game will likely follow the trend of every single Syracuse win this season. It will fall behind early, get into a groove and then put the game away in Tallahassee, Florida.
Connor Smith (21-3)
Escaping the Panhandle
Syracuse 75, Florida State 70
The Seminoles have been one of the ACC’s best and most consistent teams over the past six years, but they’ve taken a big fall this season. There have been some nice wins, including a seven-point win at Pitt a few weeks ago, but FSU also didn’t look remotely competitive against NC State last Wednesday, or in the game before that against Miami. Florida State is second-worst in the conference in rebounding, and last in scoring defense.
That presents Syracuse with a chance to cruise to a road win. I don’t see that happening, though. While Edwards should have a big game, with Girard and Mintz complimenting him as usual, the Seminoles will likely hang around and frustrate SU until the final horn. There’s also a chance the Orange could take this one for granted given FSU’s record, and the fact that they have four big games coming up on their schedule, which could lead to yet another sluggish start.
But with seven regular season games left — and Syracuse needing pretty much every single one of them to start sniffing March Madness — SU can’t afford to do that. But on Wednesday, I think they’ll do just enough to escape Tallahassee and return home for an important two-game homestand against NC State and Duke.
Anthony Alandt (17-7)
Open up the outside
Syracuse 80, Florida State 71
Anish kind of stole my thunder here, but I agree with everything he said. Edwards is going to rake against Florida State, replicating his terrific 27-point performance against Boston College. But I also expect significant contributions from Chris Bell and Justin Taylor, as well as a heavy dose of Girard early and often. The Seminoles are likely aware that they are going to need to double team Edwards inside, and instead of tightly guarding Syracuse’s shooters like BC did, opt to shut down Edwards and try to force the Orange to take outside shots.
Whether or not it works depends on if Syracuse sticks to its plan of working with Edwards on the low post and trading shots between its forwards and Girard. What’s likely to happen is a ton of open shots from beyond both corners of the 3-point line, and hopefully Boeheim opts to put in Taylor and Benny Williams a bit more than he did against the Eagles. I expect a high volume of shots and a sizeable first half lead against an 8-16 FSU team that flashes inexperienced big men and guards that don’t produce at the rate they should.
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