Men's Basketball

Syracuse men’s basketball roundtable: Comebacks, expectations and does this team have a shot?

Colin Davy | Asst. Photo Editor

Andrew White's heroics saved Syracuse against Wake Forest on Tuesday night.

Following a five-point win over Wake Forest on Tuesday night, Syracuse (12-9, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) welcomes a red-hot No. 6 Florida State (18-3, 6-2) to the Carrier Dome on Saturday.

Beat writers Connor Grossman, Matt Schneidman and Paul Schwedelson answer three questions surrounding the Orange with 10 ACC games left to go.

1. Is it more impressive that Syracuse pulled off the comeback against Wake Forest, or more concerning that it had to be in that spot in the first place?

Connor Grossman: Wake Forest really isn’t that bad of a team, especially compared to the nonconference opponents Syracuse faced (and lost against). And at this point in the season, there really shouldn’t be any surprises about where SU stands in the ACC. They’re middle of the pack at best, so I don’t think it’s “concerning” the Orange had to stage a late comeback to put the Demon Deacons away.

Matt Schneidman: It’s definitely more impressive that Syracuse pulled off the comeback, especially given its recent trend of allowing its second-half deficits to spiral out of control a la games against North Carolina and Notre Dame. And given Wake Forest’s 81.7 points per game entering Tuesday, it was hardly concerning that the Orange was in that precarious spot in the first place.



Paul Schwedelson: At this point in the season, Syracuse has to take any win it can get. So to look back and be concerned that the Orange couldn’t easily put away Wake Forest is misguided. At the same time, the Demon Deacons are not close to the cream of the crop in the ACC, so I’m not that impressed either. Tuesday night’s win was important because if Syracuse couldn’t beat a middle-of-the-pack ACC team like Wake Forest, there’s no telling whom it could beat the rest of the season. Overall, I don’t view the win as either impressive or concerning. Syracuse just did what it needed. And that’s what was important.

2. What are the reasonable expectations for Saturday’s game against Florida State?

C.G.: The expectation is a loss, and No. 6 Florida State has averaged a 13.1 scoring margin. So realistically, Syracuse is going to lose, and it’s not going to be that close. FSU enters the contest having won 14 of its last 16 and is led by sophomore guard Dwayne Bacon, who’s scored double-digits in his last 15 conference games. The Seminoles are as good as they’ve been in a long time, not having been ranked this high since the 1992-93 season. They’re the second tallest team in the country, per Kenpom.com, and score inside the arc at an extremely high rate.

M.S.: A reasonable expectation would be for Syracuse to lose by around 10-15 points, given that Florida State is arguably a top-five team in the country and is coming off a 5-1 stretch in which it played six consecutive ranked ACC teams. Freshman Jonathan Isaac is one of the best freshmen in the country along with Kentucky’s backcourt pair, if not the best. Add in Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Terance Mann, and the Seminoles are one of the most surprising teams in the country.

P.S.: A reasonable expectation might be to keep the margin of loss under 15 points. Florida State is really, really good. The Seminoles have only lost once since Thanksgiving, and that was on the road against North Carolina. Syracuse has been inconsistent all year and has yet to beat a team that ranks among the best in college basketball. The one thing in the Orange’s favor is that the team is playing with house money. A loss to Florida State is completely expected. So if SU does in fact lose, it’s not a big blow back.

3. Was there something you saw from Tuesdays’ game that the Orange can do to keep this momentum going and start winning consistently? 

C.G.: I’m not sure there’s one single thing from Tuesday’s game that will allow Syracuse to start winning consistently from this point, but it’s certainly hard to look past what Taurean Thompson did. I’ll shy away from what he did individually (18 points with a handful of steals, rebounds and blocks), and point out what was a great sign in the grander scheme for SU. The Orange’s depth has gone from being the hallmark of this team to being the punchline. It was extremely promising to see someone outside of Tyler Lydon, Tyus Battle and Andrew White produce big time on the scoresheet. If the Orange can get four of its players rolling at once, it could have a shot at taking down some of the behemoths in the ACC.

M.S.: I think the key, offensively at least, is to get Thompson going like he’s shown he can. He was arguably the Orange’s third-best player against the Demon Deacons, and still he scored 18 points. He’s in the lineup for his offense in the first place, but discouraging stretches like Thompson scoring four points in 21 minutes last week don’t provide much reason for optimism. But Tuesday, even if it’s just one game, he showed how dangerous Syracuse can be if it gets scoring in the low post from Thompson.

P.S.: Thompson played tremendous on Tuesday night. All season, his defense has been an issue, but against Wake Forest, he played one of his best defensive games of the year. In just 21 minutes, he had three rebounds, two blocks and two steals. He was effective getting easy layups at the basket and wasn’t settling for more challenging mid-range jumpers. Thompson gave the Orange a huge boost and if he can continue to play like that, SU is a much more dangerous team.





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