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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Syracuse’s 2024-25 regular season was many things. Consistent wasn’t one of them. The Orange never pieced together any kind of momentum. After winning their first three nonconference games of the season, they only won back-to-back games one more time, which came in January.
The Orange struggled with continuity, losing leading-scorer J.J. Starling for seven games in the middle of the season, while freshman forward Donnie Freeman hasn’t played since Jan. 4. Even when SU has played well in certain games, it’s struggled to close out others. Over the past month, Syracuse has blown three double-digit leads in the second half: one to Pittsburgh, one to Virginia Tech and another to SMU.
Syracuse finished the season as the No. 14 seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament — the second-lowest in the field — setting up a matchup with No. 11-seed Florida State.
At points, the Orange dominated, building a double-digit lead in the second half. That didn’t last long, as FSU wilted Syracuse’s lead away. But this time, the Orange held on for the win.
Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (14-18, 7-13 Atlantic Coast) 66-62 win over Florida State (17-15, 8-12 Atlantic Coast) Tuesday in the first round of the ACC Tournament:
Watkins held in check
Jamir Watkins is FSU’s most potent offensive weapon. He entered Tuesday averaging 18.5 points per game — the fourth-most in the ACC — and is only one of two FSU players averaging double figures. The senior’s been playing his best basketball recently, scoring 21.6 points per game over his last five contests.
Syracuse opted to use its best defender against Watkins in Lucas Taylor. The Georgia State transfer picked up an early foul when Watkins drove inside. Taylor was quickly pulled for Kyle Cuffe Jr., who equally guarded Watkins well. He was barely involved in FSU’s offense. The Orange closed off driving lanes with hardball pressure, forcing him to get rid of the ball early.
Watkins’s first shot attempt came nearly 13 minutes into the game. He took the ball from the top of the key, pulling up for a contested mid-range jumper, which fell. Watkins’ only other made field goal in the first half came on an alley-oop after a broken play.
Coming out of the break, the senior had a more concerted effort to get to the basket. He banked home a layup before getting fouled on back-to-back possessions after SU had built an eight-point lead.
Outside of that quick burst, Watkins was held quiet from the floor. He finished with 16 points on just four made field goals.
Feed the beast
Eddie Lampkin Jr. has played his best basketball of the season over the past few weeks. In SU’s last seven games, he’s averaged 17.1 points per game while hitting two-thirds of his shots. Lampkin’s play has given the Orange a prerogative to pound the ball in the paint.
Tuesday was no different. Rather than letting him back down early, Syracuse initiated high-low actions between Lampkin and Jyáre Davis. Davis controlled the ball on the perimeter, and Lampkin sealed FSU’s Malique Ewin.
Eventually, Florida State decided to front Lampkin with Bostyn Holt. When Lampkin received the ball, he was doubled, kicking the ball out to Starling. With a hard closeout coming, Starling scooted by his defender for a layup.
After that sequence, Syracuse couldn’t get the ball to Lampkin as much. Florida State started pushing the pace offensively, creating a frenetic pace. The Orange didn’t have much of a settled offense, preventing Lampkin from getting the ball.
Because of FSU’s added attention, Lampkin went to work on the offensive boards. He finished a pair of misses from Starling for easy putbacks. On a third offensive rebound, he was guarded by Taylor Bol Bowen and Ewin but still got his shot to go, giving him a game-high 12 points at halftime.
FSU adjusted well to Lampkin in the second half. It sent multiple bodies at him, forcing limited touches near the basket. He was fronted by Jerry Deng throughout the half, using someone with length rather than strength. It worked, holding Lampkin without a field goal after halftime.
Missing bunnies
The number of layups Syracuse missed against FSU was astonishing. Getting to the rim wasn’t a problem; finishing was. The Orange got in the paint plenty of times through dribble penetration but couldn’t convert, seemingly bothered by FSU’s length. SU missed a total of 10 layups in the first half.
Starling would beat his man, but when contested by Bol Bowen, Ewin or another of Florida State’s bigs, he couldn’t finish. It wasn’t just Starling. Chris Bell blew a bunny in transition following a turnover. Cuffe did multiple times, too. It led to Syracuse going over four minutes without a field goal after it gained a 17-10 lead with 13 minutes remaining.
Starling finally got a layup to go, but it was just one of five made field goals in the final 10 minutes of the first frame. At one point, the Orange were 9-of-25 from the field, though they survived to lead.
On SU’s first possession of the second half, Starling made sure not to miss another point-blank look. He easily got to his right hand and banked in a layup, extending SU’s advantage to six.
Cold from 3
Syracuse’s inability to hit 3-pointers is well-documented this season. It’s been better as of late, though still below average throughout the entire season. During the regular season, the Orange hit just 33.4% of their 3s, ranking in the middle of the pack in the ACC. Earlier in the season, SU was shooting under 30% from beyond the arc.
Early Tuesday, the Orange looked to be changing that tune, knocking down their first two. Jaquan Carlos drilled a corner 3 and Davis drained another. From there, the Orange tossed up a bunch of bricks, missing 12 straight attempts from deep. They did attack the paint regularly and, when necessary, kicked the ball out. But SU couldn’t make FSU pay when it collapsed its defense.
Taylor fired away from deep, coming off a game where he tied a season-high three 3s but missed his six attempts. Nobody showed up to be a consistent threat from the outside. In the end, SU went the final 37 minutes without hitting a 3.
Trying to close
Syracuse has plenty of experience playing with leads recently. It hasn’t been good at holding them. Tuesday, SU led by 16 in the second half. It was playing the best basketball it’s played all season. Florida State had no answer for Syracuse as it pounded the ball in the paint while keeping the Seminoles at bay offensively.
The Orange were cruising to the second until the Seminoles came storming back. FSU picked up the pressure on defense, and Syracuse couldn’t buy a bucket. It led to Florida State embarking on a 10-0 run.
SU, on the other hand, went nearly six minutes without scoring. After missing two free throws at the line, Starling got to the rim after receiving a screen from Lampkin on the wing. In the ensuing possession, he forced a steal and converted in transition, pushing SU’s lead back to 10.
That didn’t mean Syracuse was safe. FSU continued to chip away with the Orange’s stagnant offense. Florida State cut it back down to five at the under-four timeout, putting all the pressure on SU.
Syracuse had the ball up three with 20 seconds left, though it turned it over, leading to a Florida State score to make it 62-61 with 9.5 seconds left. Still, SU pulled out the win.
The post Observations from SU’s ACC Tournament win over FSU: Watkins quiet, missed layups appeared first on The Daily Orange.