Syracuse students agree: Winning the season finale would be nice.
Syracuse faces their last test in the 2013-2014 Regular Season. They take on Florida State down in Tallahassee. Can Syracuse dig deep and find some offense to ward off another let down on the road?
First, apparently Jeremi Grant will suit up and play in this game. I have a feeling he won't play much and he won't add much on the offensive end, where we need his post play. But hey, if he contributes that will only help Syracuse, a team in desperate need of scoring. Right now it's coming from surefire First Team All-ACC CJ Fair. He tied his career high the other night in his Dome farewell. And Ennis also added some points. After that, there was not much scoring done by the team. Cooney has been dreadful in his last three games from long range (6-28, 21.4%), and was only 1-8 against GTech in the last game. That's not good, my friends. We all know Keita isn't setting nets on fire. It is still a little surprising that Christmas doesn't contribute more on offense, but he can have his moments. He's just not consistent enough to rely on points when needed. So that leaves CJ and Grant as the offensive stalwarts of this team right now. That probably isn't enough to overtake the stellar front line of Florida State. They are tall and can do enough to hurt Syracuse inside. The advantage for Syracuse is in running the 2-3 Zone, and being able to force those post players away from the basket and near the foul line to make plays. However, that also opens up Syracuse to allow three point opportunities for FSU. That is something they can take advantage of, being the best shooting team in the conference. Granted, they are not as good at shooting the 3 (37.5%), but this is still a team that can make jump shots. If Syracuse can find a way to get points on the board, and somehow get second chance points against the bigger FSU players, they have a shot in this game. Otherwise FSU will give Syracuse a good run. I have lost my faith in Syracuse scoring, and until I see Grant is back and contributing I'm not convinced he'll play a part in this game either. And frankly, I get the feeling the team has packed it in for the ACC Tournament already as well. Cooney is a ghost, and no one else seems to step up when needed. While FSU isn't the best team in the league, they just have a good matchup going this afternoon against a smaller, battered Syracuse squad. I'm taking FSU over the Orange by 12.
This game is available regionally at 2:00pm. You can check your local listings here. If you aren't blacked out, you can watch on Watch ESPN of course, or you can view it on the ACC Website (with a probably more reliable and contemporary time connection). I'll be in the true home office for one last game. I could use the pick up, so if Syracuse wants to go ahead and surprise me with a win I'll take it.
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview
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