Coming off one of its most exciting victories in recent memory, Syracuse hopes to ride the momentum into Tuesday’s home date with Florida State.
The Orange (13-5, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) nipped Miami 72-69 over the weekend as Quadir Copeland drained a 3-pointer as time expired. The win was the eighth in the last 10 games for Syracuse.
In opening their three-game homestand, the Orange received 22 points from JJ Starling and 10 points, 13 assists and eight boards from Judah Mintz.
“Judah, again, just impacted the game,” coach Adrian Autry said. “He just controlled the game. He made the right plays. He got our shooters shots.”
The biggest one, of course, was Copeland’s dagger as the buzzer sounded. It remains to be seen if the Orange can carry that excitement over into their matchup with the Seminoles (11-7, 5-2), who had a five-game winning streak snapped their last time out.
Florida State fell at home to Clemson 78-67 on Saturday as the Seminoles shot just 40.7 percent from the field and 4 of 18 from 3-point range. Florida State also got outrebounded 39-22 and finished with just three offensive rebounds.
“When you go from being the hunter to the hunted, that’s a big change. It’s not easy to win five in a row in the ACC. People respect that,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. “That’s part of what separates good from great.”
Jamir Watkins led the Seminoles with 15 points against the Tigers, while Darin Green Jr. chipped in 13 points.
Mintz is looking to get back on track after shooting 29.2 percent over the last four games. Starling, meanwhile, has shot 59.4 percent over the last three outings and made six 3-pointers against Miami.
The Orange won last season’s matchup 76-67 thanks in part to Mintz’s 16 points and six assists. Syracuse has won three of the last four meetings overall.
–Field Level Media
