TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Rakeem Christmas camped out in front of the basket, ready to rebound in case Jerami Grant missed.

When the ball ricocheted off the rim, Christmas snatched it and smoothly laid it in for two in one seamless motion. It was a crisp, mistake-free play — one that gave the Orange a 43-35 lead in the second half and summed up an afternoon of dominance for Christmas.

He finished with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, notching six rebounds and two blocks. Christmas, Grant and Baye Moussa Keita manhandled Florida State’s (18-12, 9-9 Atlantic Coast) big men on Sunday, as the No. 7 Orange (27-4, 14-4) cruised to a 74-58 win in its regular-season finale.

Syracuse outrebounded Florida State 43-24, its second biggest margin of the season. FSU often opted to use to a three-guard lineup, which paved the way for Christmas and Co. to feast inside.

“That’s the most athletic team we’ve played this year,” Florida State forward Okaro White said.

SU head coach Jim Boeheim said Syracuse’s ability to control the glass dictated the tempo of the game. Florida State only snared eight offensive rebounds, while SU finished with 17.

Boeheim wasn’t sure if it was the Orange’s best rebounding performance of the season, but he said it was definitely his team’s best showing on the glass in recent memory.

“Obviously, that’s always key if you can get some of those,” Boeheim said. “I don’t know if we got a lot, but we got some and got active and got down the court. And that’s good.”

When Syracuse players missed outside shots, their teammates were frequently there to clean up the miss.

And for the oft-berated Christmas, Sunday was a return to the glimpses of brilliance he’s shown in spurts this season. In the first half, he came out of nowhere from the weak side to swat a shot.

He quickly found Tyler Ennis, who ignited a fast break as SU’s bench cheered.

Christmas anchored the SU defense, helping to limit Florida State — which entered the game at an ACC-best 46.8-percent clip — to 38 percent shooting.

FSU couldn’t generate any sort of fluidity offensively, and the big men were at the forefront of the Orange’s defensive prowess.

Published on March 10, 2014 at 12:31 pm

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