Lessons learned from Syracuse men’s basketball team’s poor performance versus Florida State

Lessons learned from Syracuse men’s basketball team’s poor performance versus Florida State

The last men’s and women’s NCAA Division 1 basketball teams to go unbeaten at home were the Syracuse Orange clubs. That ended on Tuesday night when SU lost 85-69 to Florida State due to failed free throw and foul shot attempts.

Now for the key insights:

Dim but Not Out
Despite how poorly the Orange performed, this defeat isn’t as significant as it might seem to start the season.

Although Quadir Copeland’s buzzer beater against Miami takes some of the adrenaline away, I think this defeat will age well in the overall scheme of bracketology. Injuries plagued FSU during their non-conference schedule, but now that they’re getting closer to full strength, the ‘Noles have made excellent use of their bench to produce game-changing moments in close contests.

‘Cuse appeared right in it after Judah Mintz’s smash.

Whoa, Judah ‍

#Twitterpic #ESP2 #K8AwS7WF1

— Men’s basketball at Syracuse (@Cuse_MBB) January 24, 2024… but the visitors’ excellent time management in the aftermath saw them wear down the Orange defence and then seize on foolish errors in the midcourt. They gained permanent control with a 13-2 run.

For the remainder of the game, SU should strive for 8-3/9-2, assuming another Tar Heel victory. This puts them in a strong position to be seriously considered for the big dance with only one or two victories in the ACC Tournament.

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In the meanwhile, FSU should benefit them overall if they perform well against other ACC teams and, ideally, defeat the mid-pack teams that are vying with Syracuse for a double-digit seed.

Lost Right Away
Despite the close score, Syracuse’s offensive touch was absent the whole evening. If you take away Mintz’s 28 points and Maliq Brown’s 12 rebounds from the game, the stat sheet is nothing. Nothing good, anyhow.

Eleven missed free throws, sixteen turnovers, and a 1/14 shooting percentage won’t go you very far. What is possible is realising and fixing the mistakes SU committed during the defeat.

Exhibit A: SideArm provided the shot selection.

Being a subpar deep-shooting squad is acceptable. Missing the same shots all night long and making no effort to work the mid-range game is not acceptable.

With his steady presence in the paint the past two games, Mintz took burden off of them, demonstrating just how effective secondary scoring can be. While he did record three assists, the squad as a whole managed four. Iso ball was quite ineffectual as a result of no one wanting to move the ball about and divide the defence.

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The sheer volume of fouls Florida State committed was the sole reason SU managed to keep it close for three-quarters of the match. They converted 22 of the 33 available free throws, and FSU made 15 of their 20 attempts at the line. Considering that he received a shout-out from me during the broadcast, “Free throws matter!” – Brent Axe

Was Dealt a Bad Hand
The fact that Red does not have as many people as he had hoped for is part of the issue. It is obvious that Mounir Hima is not well. Even if he wasn’t particularly good, Naheem McLeod was a great body to have around for ten minutes.

The entire offensive framework shifts in the absence of one of those two. Justin Taylor at the 4 and Brown at the 5 are the two starters you have to play out of position. They both put in a lot of work, so it’s unrealistic to anticipate 28 to 30 minutes every night from them.

Although Autry has been drastically reducing JT’s playing time (he only played 12 versus FSU), what happens when Benny Williams, the only healthy alternative, is having mental health issues of his own? Extend a very erratic Q? Then you have two players on the field who aren’t much use for rebounding when you turn to 6’2″ Kyle Cuffe?

With Maliq, it’s more about the matchups he occasionally has to face as the “centre” in the rotation than it is about the minutes. Even if he possesses the finest intangibles on the team, it doesn’t really matter when the player you’re defending and being defended by is taller and wider than you.

Taking into account the length of the Seminoles’ exhibit, it may have been far more repulsive.