TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  — While guarded by M.J. Walker, Elijah Hughes crossed half court with Syracuse down three. Orange head coach Jim Boeheim expected Hughes to play after suffering a groin injury before SU’s last game, but he didn’t anticipate his leading-scorer moving this well.

Hughes dribbled through his legs for separation and launched from the logo. He hopped backward, and like everyone else in the arena, watched the ball rim in and out. The Orange nearly had their marquee win, nearly washed away a two-game skid, but the ball bounced hopelessly as the buzzer sounded. Hughes bit his jersey, bent down and walked off the court.  

Even with scoring 77 points against the best defense in the conference, the Orange left the court with another tight defeat. Another upset bid wasted. 

“We scored enough,” Orange head coach Jim Boeheim said. “We gotta get stops, get rebounds to get wins like this and we couldn’t do it.” 

SU (14-11, 7-7 Atlantic Coast) offense solved the 13th-ranked Seminoles’ defense by bucking recent shooting trends and taking advantage of screen-switches. But it still wasn’t enough in its 80-77 loss to No. 8 Florida State (21-4, 11-3) in the Donald L. Tucker Center. SU burned 25 points from an injured Hughes and five 3s from a red-hot Joseph Girard III. A season-long grit reemerged — they trailed for nearly the entire contest before seizing two leads in the final minutes — but so did a season-long inability to rebound  and get a stop when they needed it most. FSU snagged 47 boards to SU’s 29, including the last four. And the game’s final bucket, a layup by Williams, highlighted the differences between SU and the upper echelon of the conference. 

Nearly a month ago, on Jan. 11 against Virginia, Syracuse traveled to a ranked opponent and turned its season around. Nearly all momentum mustered by the upset and the four subsequent wins seems dissipated now. The Orange handled bad teams. Then it lost to a good one in Clemson. Then an expected defeat against Duke. Hughes’ groin injury and the North Carolina State loss triggered a sinking feeling. Florida State’s narrow victory nearly capsized the season. SU has one lifeboat left in three days against No. 5 Louisville. But the mood was a familiar one inside Syracuses’s locker room.

“(Rebounding) that was the difference in the end of the game,” Boeheim said. “…It was a tremendous effort, it just got away at the end.” 

Florida State’s advantage on the boards was apparent from tip. The Seminoles grabbed three offensive rebounds on their first offensive trip. Within four minutes, they had seven offensive boards and one Orange forward in foul trouble. Marek Dolezaj committed two fouls in the early stretch, making him less aggressive, he said later. 

FSU’s average player is 79 inches tall, tallest in the country, per KenPom. SU is 10th-tallest (78.4-inches). Boeheim didn’t think the Seminoles’ size caused Syracuse problems. It was the Orange’s positioning in the paint. They scored 40 points in the paint but allowed 10 more offensive rebounds (20 to 10). 

“We were not at the right spots,” freshman forward Quincy Guerrier said. “Sometimes they were more physical. They wanted the ball more than us.” 

The offensive rebounds led to more shots, more putbacks, more separation. The second-best 3-point team in the ACC hit 10 3s. One came when Trent Forrest had the ball on the high-post and Wyatt Wilkes shuffled atop the arc. Girard collapsed for a steal attempt, but Forrest kicked it out. 

Once Patrick Williams, among others, were established in the high-post, FSU kicked the ball around the perimeter. They frayed out with Williams either looking around the arc or baseline for an assist. After an offensive rebound, Buddy Boeheim said, it was “prime time” for a forward to look for a white jersey situated near the 3-point line. The Orange guards heading the 2-3 zone dropped lower and clogged the lane, but that left shooters open. 

Syracuse stormed back with scoring spurts.  Hughes led all scorers with 25, taking his usual even with his lingering groin injury. Girard navigated the attack with 22 points and five 3s. He absorbed and beat FSU’s full-court press. And he earned a few easy buckets by quickly scoring off restarts and beating defenders up the court.

SU found repeated success with high-ball screens whenever 7-foot Dominik Olejniczak and 7-foot-1 Balsa Koprivica checked in. Sometimes a forward would stack over the ball as an SU guard reached midcourt, immediately forcing the mismatch .

“We scored enough. We gotta get stops, get rebounds to get wins like this and we couldn’t do it,” Boeheim said. 

Frenetic energy fed the final minutes of the contest. Florida State connected on clutch 3s and fast-break sequences gave the Orange alley-oops. When Girard hit his fifth 3, giving SU its first lead since the opening frame, he turned around and stared at the crowd. Walker, who finished with 16, matched him. Walker was then fouled on a 3-pointer when Dolezaj didn’t let him land, knotting the score at 69. His ensuing free throw would give FSU the lead for good. 

Desperation ruminated on Syracuse’s last possessions. In the final minute, Girard drove against the 6-foot-6 Anthony Polite and was swatted. Hughes scored anyway after a steal, but Williams immediately answered. He caught the ball baseline, knocked Dolezaj to the ground and finished over Hughes and off glass. The ensuing Hughes near-3 added excitement for the slightest moment, but the outcome was familiar. 

Published on February 15, 2020 at 5:16 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez