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Syracuse headed to Tallahassee, Florida for the first and only time this season, slated against a struggling Florida State team. The Orange got off to a quick lead with a 7-0 run, but the Seminoles took a lead late in the second half and held on to it for almost 14 minutes.

SU came back on the performance of Judah Mintz, who put the game away for Syracuse for the second straight game. Mintz finished with 16 points in the second half while Joe Girard III finished with a team-high 26 on the night.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s 76-67 win over Florida State:

Judah Mintz seals another game

Boston College kept close against Syracuse until the duration between the under-8 and under-4 timeouts, where the Orange took hold of the game off Jesse Edwards’ offensive creativity and Mintz’s aggression inside.

Again, Mintz was the difference late in the game, controlling most possessions and routinely getting into the lane. Mintz did all this while drawing contact too, getting to the line three times in the second half.

Mintz’s second trip to the free-throw line came after he hesitated with his back turned to the basket at the right wing. He spun to his left, embracing contact from Chandler Jackson as he scored on a baseline floater.

A minute later, Mintz took off in transition with Chris Bell near him. Mintz looked to lob the ball to Bell, but an FSU defender got in the way. Somehow, Mintz slowed down his pace in one step and banked a shot in off the glass instead.

McLeod (almost) McDouble

Naheem McLeod walked into Syracuse’s paint at will throughout most of the first half, and only left after slamming it down or laying it in. He positioned himself behind Edwards, waiting for the FSU’s offense to pull Edwards away from his spot in the middle of the zone.

Five minutes into the game, FSU got exactly what it wanted. Edwards moved to the top of the paint, leaving McLeod open under the basket. Maliq Brown was supposed to fill in for Edwards’ vacated spot, but he couldn’t come back in time and McLeod hammered it in.

Late in the first half, Florida State began to establish Matthew Cleveland in the high post, getting him open looks from the elbow. McLeod blocked a shot from Mintz on one end, and eventually Cleveland got the ball in that preferred spot.

This time, Syracuse’s defense converged on him, leaving McLeod open for his fourth dunk of the night off a timely lob from Cleveland. McLeod led all scorers with 14 points in the first half, shooting 7-of-8 from the field.

Girard’s boost

While McLeod tore apart Syracuse’s defense, Girard was the only bright spot on the offensive end. Girard ended a near six-minute scoring drought by making a few baskets inside.

With three minutes left in the first half, Girard missed a floater, but Edwards collected the rebound and handed it back to Girard at the top of the key. With two defenders closing in on him, Girard rose up and nailed the 3-pointer, laying the ball in a minute later to cut Florida State’s lead to two.

At the start of the second half, Girard collected a long rebound from the right wing before darting to the other end of the floor. He avoided contact and went up on the left side, finishing coast-to-cast for one of the first transition buckets of the night for SU. He drained a 3-pointer as well, giving Syracuse its first lead in almost 14 minutes.

Glass needs more windex

Syracuse hasn’t found any answers yet for its abysmal defensive rebounding, which is in the bottom 30 nationally, according to KenPom. Florida State, who has the second-tallest team in the country, took advantage of its size and SU’s inability to box out on the offensive glass early.

Cleveland was the first to get an offensive rebound, collecting his second after McLeod missed four minutes in. Cleveland was untouched, easily getting the rebound before dishing it out to Darin Green Jr., who missed from deep. Cleveland corralled another possession for FSU, going out to the arc to take his own 3-pointer.

Cleveland missed too, but again, no SU player was anywhere in sight. McLeod grabbed the ball and easily laid it in on the right side. Two minutes later, he did the same thing, this time clasping the ball over Edwards’ head before putting it back in to bring SU’s lead down to one.

Up-and-down play from Edwards

After Edwards’ career-high 27 point performance against Virginia Tech, the Orange tried to get him established early against the Seminoles. But he wasn’t as successful.

Edwards got himself into one-on-one matchups early, trying to use the same moves which worked for him in Boston, continuously pivoting and spinning in the lane. But he moved too fast trying to get inside, forcing shots off the glass which only clanked against the rim. He missed a wide-open Bell in the corner once as well, attempting to spin by two defenders.

Edwards was 1-for-5 in the first half, but he continued to be an option for Syracuse in the second. He took control of the ball on SU’s first possession, again trying to spin by two defenders. The ball poked out of Edwards’ grasp before he could finish, though Cleveland missed on the other end.

Later, the big man finally found some rhythm, getting into position so he could finish off lobs or compete on the glass like McLeod did for the opposition. Mintz threw a pass up to Edwards a few minutes into the second half, though Edwards couldn’t get himself to face the basket. He still caught the ball and finished the reverse alley-oop, cutting Florida State’s lead to 5 points.

Edwards started to make an impact on the glass with McLeod off the floor, collecting a missed jumper from Bell and repaying him for the pass he missed to the corner earlier in the game. Bell drained the 3.

Published on February 8, 2023 at 9:32 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu