The ACC began its conference college basketball play over the weekend, with 12 teams each playing their first conference game of the season. In the opening weekend, there were many good games. None were as intense as the Syracuse Orange against the Florida State Seminoles. Both of these teams came into the game needing a win to get their season on track. The game that ensued after could not have been better.
The game saw Florida State leading the Orange at halftime, but Syracuse basketball won the game, 63-60, after scoring 39 in the second half. With Syracuse’s win at Florida State, they snapped the Seminoles’ 25-game home win streak against ACC opponents. Does this game give Syracuse consideration for the Top-25?
Syracuse Basketball Wins After Crazy Ending
Florida State led the game at halftime, 32-24, but almost immediately went cold. The Orange opened the second half scoring 19 out of the first 25 points, culminating in a 43-30 lead. With just under six minutes in the game, Syracuse led, 55-44. These leads came after Florida State shot an abysmal 20% from the field in the second half.
That’s when the game got turned around. Florida State caught fire, making their next five shots, including a three-pointer from Malik Osbourne. With 42 seconds left, the Seminoles found themselves down, 61-60. After Syracuse turned the ball over on their possession, Florida State gave the ball right back with 12 seconds left in the game. Fouling came into play, as the Seminoles were forced to foul twice to get to the bonus. Syracuse’s Cole Swider put in two free throws to go up, 63-60. On the Seminoles’ final possession, they missed two three-pointers to lose the game.
Role Players Step Up for Both Syracuse and Florida State
In a game that featured players such as Buddy Boeheim and Malik Osbourne, it was the role players that stepped up. The aforementioned Swider finished the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds, including those two clutch free throws. Joe Girard added another 16 points, with Jimmy Boeheim and Jesse Edwards scoring 13 and 11, respectively. Caleb Mills was the leading scorer for the Seminoles, as he scored 16 points. Anthony Polite, Rayquan Evans, Matthew Cleveland and Naheem McLeod combined for another 27 points.
What the role players couldn’t do though is defend their home court, as Florida State lost their first ACC game in 25 games. The streak now ranks second in conference history, coming one game shy of Duke’s 26-game streak from 1997-2000. The Seminoles will have a chance to start another streak in two games when they take on Lipscomb at home. Syracuse will look to build on their big ACC win when Villanova comes to town on Dec. 7.
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