Syracuse men’s basketball (13-5, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) hosts its second straight opponent from the Sunshine State when Florida State (11-7, 5-2 ACC) visits the Dome on Tuesday at 7 p.m. SU is fresh off a 72-69 win over Miami on Saturday that came on a buzzer-beater triple from guard Quadir Copeland.
The Orange have now won back-to-back games after suffering its largest loss in ACC history at UNC on January 13. But the ‘Cuse has its work cut out for it against a streaking Florida State team. The Seminoles have come out on top in five of their past six contests since it started the season 6-6.
Syracuse has had some recent success against Florida State, though, having taken the past two meetings. Last season, the Orange traveled to Tallahassee and handed the Seminoles a 76-67 defeat. In that tilt, guard Judah Mintz paced SU with 6 assists.
The star sophomore’s passing prowess has improved even more this campaign – and it was on full display against Miami. Mintz tallied a career-best 13 assists and earned high praise from Syracuse coach Adrian Autry.
“He took what the defense gave him,” said Autry. “That’s how he can impact the game. He doesn’t always have to score 20, but he can generate more than 20 by his passing ability.”
But even with that performance, it was Mintz’ backcourt-mate who stole the show against the Hurricanes. JJ Starling scored a season-high 22 points on 6-10 shooting from downtown. That outburst came off the heels of a 17-point game at Pitt, and coach Autry has loved what he’s seen from his two-man.
He’s been locked in, not hesitating, he’s been confident and just out there making plays.”
And if history says anything, the sophomore guard could have a solid outing against the Seminoles. The Notre Dame transfer played against FSU twice in his freshman year with the Irish and averaged 16 points while connecting on three of his six tries from deep.
The Orange have one more factor in the favor on Tuesday: the Dome. With the win on Saturday, Syracuse is still undefeated on its home court. Coach Autry gave plenty of credit to the raucous SU faithful for its help against Miami.
“It (the atmosphere) was amazing,” said Autry. “We need our students to come out, we have the best venue in the country.”
Autry, and his dynamic Mintz-Starling backcourt aim to feed off the home crowd once again when Florida State comes to town on Tuesday at 7 p.m. WAER’s coverage begins with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff at 6:30 p.m.