Florida State wants to run track meets. Syracuse proved it can win one.
Syracuse beat Florida State at its own game, outlasting the Seminoles 94-86 in a track meet for its third straight win. Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor
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Donnie Freeman donned a grey sweatshirt with his hoodie up, mostly looking down while speaking in Syracuse’s locker room. Then there was the mention of Florida State’s fast pace.
His head and eyes quickly shot up.
“Florida State plays really fast —”
Man, do they.
The Seminoles entered the JMA Wireless Dome with the 11th-highest KenPom adjusted tempo while also boasting the third-highest percentage of a team’s shots coming from 3-point range (3PA/FGA). SU’s tempo ranked middle-of-the-pack nationally, while its 3PA/FGA was toward the bottom.
While the game was played in the track meet-like style Florida State (7-10, 0-4 Atlantic Coast) prefers — with 180 total points and 54 combined 3-point attempts — Syracuse (12-5, 3-1 Atlantic Coast) outran it en route to a 94-86 win. The victory marks the Orange’s third straight following wins over Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh last week.
“We’re not gonna see a lot of teams that shoot as many 3s as them or play at the pace that they play at,” Freeman, who scored a game-high 25 points, said.
Following the game, SU’s KenPom ranking improved from No. 62 to No. 60. The win also makes the Orange one of seven ACC teams with a conference record better than .500 — their only loss was a tight Quad 1 home defeat to Clemson in the conference opener.
Heading into the season, it seemed like the Orange’s identity would be similar to what Florida State has done so far. Head coach Adrian Autry wanted to play fast, but another identity quickly took shape — a team that fights, especially on the defensive end.
The first real glimpse of that was on display against Drexel, with the most notable example a gritty 62-60 Quad 1 win over Tennessee. Even in the loss against Clemson, SU fell 64-61 in a similar style, where Autry was proud of his team’s fight.
Tuesday was vastly different. Points were flying onto the scoreboard, and they came in a hurry.
As expected, FSU hunted quick shots from beyond the arc. More unexpectedly, the Seminoles were connecting with their outside shots. Despite shooting 3s at a high clip, they’re not a great 3-point shooting team.
Similarly, Syracuse also struggled from deep entering Tuesday, and it boasts one of the lowest 3PA/FGA percentages in the country. That didn’t deter the Orange from attempting 27 3-pointers, keeping exact pace with Florida State.
Backed by Tyler Betsey draining six triples for a career-high 18 points, SU won the 3-point battle 11-10. It marked a season-high in made 3s for Syracuse, a game after it made 10 for the first time all season on Saturday versus Pitt.
“Trying to create a 3 off a play or a set is tough,” Autry said. “I thought we got a lot of our stuff in transition. I thought the guys really made extra passes, and I thought they started looking for them after a while as well.”
While Freeman was sidelined for nine games with a foot injury, ball movement and scoring didn’t come easily for the Orange. Even so, Autry said there was “nothing wrong” with their offense after an uninspiring win over Mercyhurst.
Betsey said he felt SU’s offense was “stagnant,” while freshman Kiyan Anthony said the Orange struggled after their initial sets were blown up. However, when getting out in transition, Anthony said Tuesday that it’s easier for them to find shooters, throw lobs and get and-ones.
For that to happen, everything runs through reigning ACC assists leader Naithan George. While he’s had ups and downs in his first year at Syracuse after transferring from Georgia Tech, Autry highlighted that his point guard has been really good the last few games and is the key to the offense.
He delivered against Florida State with a career-high 13 assists.
“That’s what we want to do,” George said about playing fast. “That was our plan, and that’s really on me to set the table and get the ball out of bounds quick and go.”
That was best on display in the final minute, when George dished knockout punch assists to William Kyle III on an alley-oop and fed J.J. Starling for a cherry on top fastbreak dunk to end the game. Kyle III finished 11 points and nine rebounds, while Starling tacked on 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
But nobody rose to the occasion more than Freeman. For the third straight game, he scored over 20 points. Nine came in the final six minutes and change, giving Syracuse the closer it desperately lacked in his absence.
While a season-high 94 points was encouraging, the Orange’s 86 points conceded were their second-worst total of the season. But most importantly for Autry, he feels his team is learning how to win.
In the early going, they showed they can fight with anyone and claw out wins. Tuesday was the first time this season SU won a track meet against a Power 4 program this year.
As conference play continues to progress, winning is all that matters. Beating FSU to earn a Quad 3 win only helps the Orange, because their March Madness resume doesn’t get hurt. Down the stretch, Quad 1 and 2 victories are needed to snap the program’s longest NCAA Tournament drought in over five decades.
“The urgency is definitely there,” Autry said. “They understand, every game, what’s at stake.”
Sometimes, the urgency will come with a defensive stop. Other times, it’ll need to win an offensive shootout.
And on a night when Florida State wanted a track meet, Syracuse proved it can win one.
