March is finally here, which means it’s officially tournament time in the 315. Syracuse men’s basketball (13-18, 7-13 Atlantic Coast Conference) heads to Charlotte, NC for a matchup against Florida State (17-14, 8-12 Atlantic Coast Conference) in the first round of the ACC Tournament on Tuesday.
SU is heading into the contest on a bit of a run to end the regular season. The Orange split two of their last four games, but those two victories were both 14-point margins. The ‘Cuse most recently dominated in its senior night regular season finale against Virginia on Saturday.
The @Cuse_MBB offense was unstoppable in its 84-70 win over @UVAMensHoops.@swilkes04 and @AndrewSelover had the call for SU's victory to close out the regular season. pic.twitter.com/mNrp9WjAQ5
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) March 9, 2025
Syracuse’s offense started off hot and outscored Virginia 43-26 in the first half. A leader for the Orange was the big man Eddie Lampkin, who shot 11-of-12 from the field and once again had a double-double in the contest. This game marked the center's 14th finishing with a double-double, which on Saturday included 25 points and 10 rebounds.
“I feel like they were little and I just tried to take advantage of what they were giving me,” Lampkin said. SU head coach Adrian Autry was also proud of the senior. “He’s a big point of what we do so we’re going down there regardless. I thought he did a really good job today,” Autry said.
Along with Lampkin on senior day, other fourth years stepped up to the task as well including Jyáre Davis and Lucas Taylor. Both Davis and Taylor each scored 15 points respectively. The duo clicking at this time in the season could really help SU jump in front when losses aren’t affordable.
Taylor has scored double digits in back-to-back contests and Davis has done so in three of the last four games. Both players hit their stride against UVA and SU shot nearly 60% from the field.
After a trio of triples last time out, @Cuse_MBB guard Lucas Taylor aims to match it.@AndrewSelover was on the call for the senior's second deep ball.
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) March 9, 2025
📻@waer883, https://t.co/BG0Q3sGq3P pic.twitter.com/NoJrbDSlWI
So, after recapping the positive notes from Saturday’s win, we eventually have to go over a huge negative heading into Tuesday’s ACC matchup against FSU. In one game this season against the Seminoles, the Orange fell 90-74 on Jan. 4. After a tight first half, it was a tale that has haunted SU throughout the entire season and that’s playing a full 40 minutes. Syracuse was outscored 54-40 in the final frame of that contest.
“We didn’t show up,” Autry said after the loss a few months ago. “I thought we had some costly turnovers.”
Something notable from that contest back in January, it was the first game back for injured Orange guard JJ Starling. After the junior broke his left hand and had to miss some weeks of action, SU’s leading scorer returned to drop 12 points in the loss. It was also the last contest where both Starling and forward Donnie Freeman shared the floor. This was the final game for Freeman before a right foot injury kept him sidelined for the rest of the season.
In the loss, FSU had four players reach double figures including guard Jamir Watkins and forward Malique Ewin. Both of those players are the only two Seminoles that have averaged 10+ points this season. A place where Florida State has struggled though is the three-point line. FSU hits just 32% of its shots from downtown, which is marked as the 3rd worst percentage in the conference.
But something is certainly different just recently for Florida State as head coach Leonard Hamilton could be coaching his final game. After 23 years with the program, Hamilton is moving on from the Seminoles. The long-time head coach has 200 regular-season ACC wins, which puts him alongside Mike Krzyzewski, Dean Smith and Roy Williams as the only coaches to reach that threshold.
Replacing Hamilton is Sacramento Kings assistant coach Luke Loucks as he just this weekend agreed to a five-year contract with the Seminals.
Now back to Syracuse, the Orange certainly have a path to victory, especially after a triumphant end to the regular season against Virginia on Saturday. With a carried momentum and a strong start from Starling and Lampkin, the Orange can pull away. This is especially notable as the Seminoles have allowed 45 or more first half points in three of their last five contests to end the regular season.
Tuesday’s matchup marks the second time these teams will meet in the ACC tournament. The Orange defeated the Seminoles in the second round of the 2022 conference tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on March 9, 2022. In terms of this year's contest, the winner faces the No. 6 seed SMU on Wednesday, March 12 in the second round of the tournament at approximately 9:30 p.m.
The first round of action between Syracuse and Florida State starts off at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. But before the game begins, listen to McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff on WAER at 6:30 p.m.