Five Takeaways: Syracuse 96 FSU 57
Syracuse blew out Florida State 96-57 in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday. Here are five takeaways from the game.
1. Kudos to the Players and Coaches
After the way that Miami game finished including all of the emotions involved, I think most expected this Syracuse team to limp into its game against Florida State, lose and end the season. Instead the Orange put together one of its most complete performances of the season. That is a credit to the coaches for getting them ready to play, the players for bouncing back mentally and the culture of the program.
2. Frank & Symir
Frank Anselem had been largely invisible since his first start against Virginia Tech. Against Florida State, he was active and efficient. He scored nine points, grabbed 15 rebounds, had four assists and three blocks. It was a tremendous all around game. Symir Torrence also came off the bench to give Syracuse a big boost. He scored nine points and had nine assists with two steals to just one turnover. He has come along and gotten more comfortable as the season has progressed, and that showed against Florida State. Both had significant impacts on the game, which is encouraging for next season.
3. Cole Swider
Swider had another strong game. Five of the last seven have been pretty good or better from him. When he plays well, Syracuse is a different team. Beyond his strong offensive outing (28 points, 4-6 from three), he had perhaps his best game defensively. Swider was active, closed out on shooters, blocked a three point attempt, and got deflections. He even grabbed 13 rebounds. Swider is shooting 55% from three over his last seven games. It would be a big boost to Syracuse if he elected to come back next season.
4. Defense
Syracuse's defense was as good as it has been all season. Yes Florida State missed some shots, but largely they simply did not have openings most of the afternoon. The Orange held the Seminoles to just 2-25 from three point range and 32% shooting overall. After giving up six offensive rebounds, Syracuse allowed just seven the rest of the game. It was a strong outing, sparked by the three guard lineup that gave the Seminoles fits on both ends.
5. No Buddy
Syracuse will be without Buddy for the Duke game. This is simply an awful situation all around. You hate to see someone's career effectively ended because of that, barring an upset of Duke or a postseason tournament selection and acceptance. I have no idea how Syracuse beats Duke. The task would have been extremely difficult with him. It is that much more so without him. The one thing I do know about this team is they will give it everything they have. I just do not think anyone believes it will be anywhere close to good enough. I think Jay Bilas' opinion is worth reviewing. I also think it is important to note that both Wyatt Wilkes (the FSU player involved) and Leonard Hamilton downplayed the incident with Wilkes saying a suspension was not warranted. That said, Buddy put himself into position to be suspended by doing what he did. Unfortunate for Syracuse. Unfortunate for the ACC Tournament.
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