In the Paint: Florida State

IN THE PAINT

su vs florida state j a n . 2 7- 2 8 , 2 0 1 7

BIG SHOT

Andrew White pays meticulous attention to his shot, one that’s arguably the most important for SU. See page 3

GETTING BIG

Taurean Thompson made shots on the inside against Wake Forest and needs to do the same against FSU. See page 5

d a i ly o r a n g e . c o m

MAKE THE CALL

Who did our beat writers predict to win Saturday’s game against Florida State? Find out. See page 11

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Justin Mattingly

Alexa Diaz

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JOHN GILLON has been inconsistent all season, manning the point for Syracuse. But after the point guard’s solid performance against Wake Forest on Tuesday in the Carrier Dome, Gillon has a chance to solidify himself as a regular in Syracuse’s starting rotation.

jessica sheldon staff photographer

PROVE YOUR POINT John Gillon has a chance to finally end Syracuse’s point guard discussion

By Paul Schwedelson senior staff writer

see gillon page 4

ON AND OFF While John Gillon has struggled shooting from the field, he has been able to run the point while averaging 4.9 assists per game

4.9

GILLON’S ASSISTS PER GAME

37.8 GILLON’S SEASON FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

3’S MADE

O

n Syracuse’s two most pivotal possessions against Wake Forest on Tuesday night, John Gillon generated the offense.

With a minute and a half remaining, he drove the lane to suck in the defense. Then he kicked the ball out to Tyler Lydon at the top of the key, who passed it to Tyus Battle, who passed it to Andrew White, who hit a 3 to give SU the lead for good.

The next possession, Gillon dribbled at the top of the key and drew two Demon Deacons. Then he passed to Lydon on the left wing for another 3-pointer. Gillon ran the point the way he’s shown potential to throughout the season. But Tuesday night was the first time he helped lead Syracuse to a single-digit victory.

“The point guard is the guy who has the ball the most,” Lydon said, “so he needs to lead the team.”

Gillon’s struggles have been magnified by the Orange’s (12-9, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) up-and-down season. While he’s played more of late, SU still hasn’t found consistency at the point guard spot. His play against Wake Forest showed another glimpse, one that Syracuse will likely need in order to upend No. 6 Florida State (18-3, 6-2) on Saturday at noon in the Carrier Dome.

After the Orange’s 17-point loss at No. 9 North Carolina, SU head coach Jim Boeheim said, “What’s the difference?” when asked about playing Gillon over fellow point guard Frank Howard. Five days after that, Gillon played just 10 minutes compared to Howard’s 29 in an 18-point loss at then-No. 15 Notre Dame.

When Gillon subbed in with 10 and a half minutes remaining against Wake Forest, Syracuse trailed by six.

The next time he subbed out for Howard was with nine seconds left and the Orange held a three-point lead. Finally, after three games of lackluster offense, one of Boeheim’s point guards made something happen.

“I think John made some good plays at the end,” Boeheim said. “We’re just not getting enough out of those guys.”

Time and again this season, Gillon’s performance hasn’t been good enough to take down the upper-echelon opponents on SU’s schedule. South Carolina shut off passing lanes to the perimeter. Wisconsin limited Syracuse’s ball

6 3 PITTSBURGH

LAST FIVE GAMES

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SU opponent preview: What to know about No. 6 FSU

By Connor Grossman senior staff writer

Looking for its first marquee win of the season, Syracuse (12-9, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) hosts No. 6 Florida State (18-3, 6-2) in the Carrier Dome on Saturday at noon. The Seminoles are coming off a shocking loss to Georgia Tech on Wednesday, while SU edged Wake Forest in the Dome on Tuesday night.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Orange’s matchup with FSU. All-time series: Syracuse leads, 6-2 Last time they played: In what was widely termed a must-win game for SU to make a solid impression on the NCAA Tournament selection committee, the Orange fell on the road, 78-73, to Florida State in last year’s regular season finale. Of course, Syracuse earned the Tournament bid some thought it lost that night in Tallahassee, Florida, but the Seminoles’ young nucleus carried the hosts on this night.

Malik Beasley led FSU with 20 points as Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes each chipped in 16. Florida State shot 50 percent in the second half, outscoring the Orange by nine en route to the five-point win. Michael Gbinije keyed a late secondhalf rally in which SU cut the deficit down to two with 32 seconds left, but even his 16 points in the second stanza weren’t enough.

Florida State report: The Seminoles are one of the biggest surprises of the college basketball season. A team that wasn’t ranked until the third week of the season, FSU won 14 of 15 games (including six of seven against ranked foes) to achieve the program’s highest ranking since the 199293 season. Leading FSU’s furious ascension is Bacon, a sophomore guard who’s scored double-digits in his last 30 games. His remarkable consistency has translated to a team-leading 17.1 points per game and a 45 percent shooting clip from the field.

Six-foot-10 freshman forward Jonathan Isaac is hauling in 7.8 rebounds per game,

anchoring the frontcourt for a Seminoles team that’s second tallest in the country according to Kenpom.com.

How Syracuse beats Florida State:

FSU boasts the second-best offense in the ACC, but as it proved on Tuesday, shooting inefficiency could easily be the team’s downfall. Against the Yellow Jackets, Florida State missed 51 shots while shooting only 28.2 percent. The good news for Syracuse is that its defense has inexplicably been better on the Carrier Dome court than anywhere else.

Preventing the Seminoles from scoring has got to be the first order of action before trying to build its own cushion on the scoreboard.

Statistically, Florida State doesn’t play outstanding defense. It yields plenty of 3-point opportunities and isn’t all that great at rebounding the ball. The point is that FSU is not impervious to mistakes. Perhaps more so than any game this season, the Orange will need its best 40 minutes of basketball to seize any opportunities handed to it. Taurean Thompson needs to use his solid performance against the Demon Deacons as a building block, and continue growing on both sides of the court into something more than a complimentary piece to Tyler Lydon, Andrew White and Tyus Battle.

Stat to know: 8.2 In a gauntlet stretch of playing six consecutive ranked conference opponents, Florida State went 5-1 and won those five games by an average of 8.2 points. Highlighting that stretch is a win over then-No. 21 Virginia Tech by 15 — a team SU lost to by 10 — and a 16-point win against then-No. 7 Duke. The Seminoles went through the ultimate proving ground for any college basketball team, and came out remarkably well. It’s hard to imagine Saturday’s afternoon’s contest not going the way of Florida State, but if it’s any consolation for the Orange, it doesn’t need to look much further than FSU’s most recent game for any underdog inspiration.

Player to watch: Dwayne Bacon, guard, No. 4 Just as Florida State has excelled against

TYLER LYDON has been one of the Orange’s only scoring threats, leading SU in scoring against both No. 9 North Carolina and No. 14 Notre Dame. daily orange file photo

some of the nation’s best teams, so has Bacon. He’s unquestionably the Seminoles’ best player, and asserted himself as one of the best in the ACC. Among several marquee performances this season, he topped out at 29 points in an upset win over Virginia, including a game-winning 3 with two sec-

onds left. Bacon’s demonstrated a consistent ability to hit contested shots, especially around the arc. His 36.7 3-point shooting percentage is top among FSU’s starters. He’s more likely than any other player to give SU’s defense fits. cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman

ANDREW WHITE has led the way in scoring for the Orange this season, averaging 16.3 points per game.

jessica sheldon staff photographer from page 3

gillon movement. Virginia Tech eliminated the pick-and-roll, and afterward Boeheim said his point guards stooped to a season-worst.

Gillon said he didn’t know how the floor spacing could be fixed after the 10-point loss in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Florida State ranks 25th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, per Kenpom. com. Gillon will have to step up to prevent the Orange from suffering a similar fate against another top defense. In 12 wins, Gillon has gone 42-of-89 from the field with 6.3 assists per game. In losses, Gillon is 14-of-59 from the field with 3.1 assists per game.

What gives Syracuse hope is what Gillon did against Wake Forest with the game on the line. In the last 10 minutes, he recorded four assists, four points and just one turnover.

“I didn’t really think too much,” Gillon said. “I just knew I had to make plays.”

Gillon said he told his teammates to give him the ball down the stretch. He told them

not to worry. He pledged to do his job as the floor general.

Boeheim said Gillon needs to “mix it up,” between scoring and passing when he drives to the basket. Figuring out when to do which has been one of Gillon’s biggest challenges all season.

47

John Gillon has played much better in Syracuse’s 12 wins than in the losses, shooting 47 percent from the field, nearly 10 percent better than his average

Some games, Gillon’s been effective. Others, he hasn’t. And just like Syracuse all season, there’s no telling what’s to come.

“That’s all I can promise you,” Gillon said. “I’m gonna go hard.” pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds

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HIGHS AND LOWS

TAUREAN THOMPSON found success in the low post on Tuesday night against Wake Forest, adding 18 points in the win. Thompson’s stock is on the upswing and may earn more minutes against Florida State on Saturday. jessica sheldon staff photographer

Freshman Taurean Thompson develops scoring from inside to return to starting rotation, aids Orange’s interior presence

By Matt Schneidman senior staff writer

T

aurean Thompson’s third rebound of the night, and maybe his most important of the season, set him up for a second chance.

Eight seconds remained in the game and Syracuse led Wake Forest by two, as Thompson skied for the rebound off Dinos Mitoglou’s missed free throw. He was fouled, with almost a full court length to walk before he tried to do what he couldn’t just minutes before.

With 2:53 remaining and SU up two, Thompson missed a pair of free throws and Mitchell Wilbekin hit a go-ahead 3-pointer 20 seconds later. This time, though, the freshman hit both from the charity stripe to put the Orange up four and seal an 81-76 win over Wake Forest in SU’s first conference game decided by single digits.

In four of Syracuse’s last six games, Thompson has scored four or fewer points.

That’s from a forward who is in the lineup primarily for his offense. But after an 18-point showing against the Demon Deacons on 70-percent shooting from the field, Thompson’s stock is back on the upswing as Syracuse (12-9, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) prepares to host No. 6 Florida State (18-3, 6-2) Saturday at noon.

“Taurean played great in the middle,” sophomore Tyler Lydon said. “He was active today in the middle, came up with some big stops for us and was able to knock down some shots.”

Thompson might have been Syracuse’s third-best player on the court behind Andrew White (career-high 27 points) and Lydon (15 points, nine rebounds and five assists). That’s when Thompson poured in 16 points in the second half, the kind of collective efforts the Orange has been craving to steer this season back on track.

Down the stretch we just came together and we just kept pushing. We knew we could do it. I know we could do much better moving forward.

Taurean Thompson su freshman

The most noticeable difference in Thompson’s game from past contests is that he’s not settling for jump shots. He’s fallen in love with the mid-range jumper — which he’s shown an ability to knock down — but there’s been little production in the paint from the freshman.

On Tuesday night, Thompson lived near the basket, trying to match Wake’s John Collins bucket for bucket in the low post to

keep Syracuse afloat in the frontcourt battle.

“We got him some easy shots down there,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said.

“He finished ‘em.”

Against an interior force such as Collins, the common belief was that Tyler Roberson would get the larger chunk of minutes than Thompson because of his defensive prowess, but the senior’s foul trouble thrust Thompson into an ACC nail-biter for the first time in his career.

What resulted was Thompson going coast to coast before finishing an alley-oop from Tyus Battle, a massive rejection at the end of the shot clock that brought the Carrier Dome crowd to its feet. The gamesealing free throws ensued, even though Thompson boasted an underwhelming 60.8-percent clip from the charity stripe as he stepped to the line.

He will be tasked with bucking the trend of struggling to string together notable offensive outings when Syracuse welcomes the sixth-ranked Seminoles to the Dome on Saturday. Through eight games in league play, Thompson has only once scored double digits in back-to-back games.

If Syracuse has any remote chance of picking up its first signature win of the season, especially against another menacing frontcourt, the freshman may have to be at the forefront once again.

“Down the stretch we just came together and we just kept pushing,” Thompson said of Syracuse’s comeback. “We knew we could do it. I know we could do much better moving forward.” mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman

TYUS BATTLE t h e i n de pe n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa pe r of s y r ac us e , n e w yor k

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SCHEDULE 2016-17 Date Opponent Time Location

Jan. 28

Feb. 1

Florida State

NC State

12 p.m.

7 p.m.

Carrier Dome

Raleigh, NC - PNC Arena

Around the ACC: Duke-WFU, BC-Virginia Tech and more

By Liam Sullivan staff writer

Next Wednesday, Syracuse travels to North Carolina State, which faces No. 13 Louisville on Saturday. And as Atlantic Coast Conference play heats up this weekend, here’s a look at what the other ACC teams are up to.

No. 14 Notre Dame (17-4, 6-2 ACC) at Georgia Tech (12-8, 4-4) Feb. 4

Virginia

12 p.m.

Carrier Dome

Feb. 7

Clemson

8 p.m.

Clemson, SC - Littlejohn Coliseum

Feb. 11

Pittsburgh

1 p.m.

Pittsburgh, PA - Petersen Events Center

The No. 14 Fighting Irish will travel to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech, which is fresh off its second win over a Top 10 opponent — a 78-56 upset of No. 6 Florida State Wednesday night. Notre Dame, led by forward Bonzie Colson, is looking to bounce back from a 71-54 loss to No. 12 Virginia on Tuesday.

Game time: Noon on Saturday TV: ESPNU

Clemson (11-8, 1-6) at Pittsburgh (12-8, 1-6) Feb. 13

Louisville

7 p.m.

Carrier Dome

Feb. 19

Georgia Tech

6 p.m.

Atlanta, GA - Hank McCamish Pavilion

Feb. 22

Duke

7 p.m.

Carrier Dome

Both teams will be looking for a second conference win Saturday as Clemson travels to play Pittsburgh. The Tigers, losers of six straight, lost 82-81 at home to Virginia Tech. Pittsburgh’s sole conference win came at home over then-No. 11 Virginia, but it has since struggled, dropping five straight contests.

Game time: Noon on Saturday TV: ESFC

No. 9 North Carolina (19-3, 7-1) at Miami (13-6, 3-4) Feb. 26

Louisville

2 p.m.

Louisville, KY - KFC Yum Center

Mar. 4

Georgia Tech

4 p.m.

Carrier Dome

The No. 9 North Carolina Tar Heels, the top team in the conference, look to extend their winning streak to seven straight against the Hurricanes. The matchup pits the Miami defense, which ranks 17th in the nation with 62.7 points allowed per game, against the high-tempo North Carolina offense, which

averages a nationwide fourth-best 89.6 points per game.

Game time: 1 p.m. on Saturday TV: CBS

No. 17 Duke (15-5, 3-4) at Wake Forest (12-8, 3-5)

The Blue Devils will travel 80 miles to visit Winston-Salem in Saturday’s final ACC contest. Since head coach Mike Krzyzewski left the program Jan. 4, Duke has gone 2-3, including losses to ranked Florida State, Louisville and North Carolina State. Wake Forest is fresh off an 81-76 loss Tuesday night to Syracuse, despite 23 points and 12 rebounds from guard John Collins.

Game time: 3 p.m. on Saturday TV: ESFC

North Carolina State (14-7, 3-5) at No. 13 Louisville (17-4, 5-3)

The Wolfpack plays in its second straight away game Sunday against the Cardinals after winning for the first time on the road all season Monday night at Duke.

Louisville has suffered two significant backcourt injuries recently and will be without both guards Quentin Snider and Tony Hicks. N.C. State will host Syracuse Wednesday night at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Game time: 1 p.m. on Sunday TV: ESFC

Boston College (9-12, 2-6) at Virginia Tech (15-5, 4-4)

Boston College has lost six of its last seven games. To improve that mark, the Eagles will need to stop Virginia Tech senior forward Zach LeDay, who averages 16.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

Game time: 6:30 p.m. on Sunday TV: ESPNU lpsull01@syr.edu

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CLASSIFIED

jan. 27-28, 2017 9

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ROSTERS SYRACUSE No. 1 2 3 4 5 10 11 12 13 20 21 24 25 32 33 34 35 54

Name Frank Howard Matthew Moyer Andrew White III John Gillon Mike Sutton Braedon Bayer Adrian Autry Taurean Thompson Paschal Chukwu Tyler Lydon Tyler Roberson Shaun Belbey Tyus Battle Dajuan Coleman Jonathan Radner Doyin Akintobi-Adeyeye Ray Featherston Ky Feldman

Position G F G G G G G F C F F G G C G F G G

Height 6-5 6-8 6-7 6-0 6-2 6-4 6-0 6-10 7-2 6-9 6-8 5-10 6-6 6-9 5-10 6-6 5-8 5-10

Weight 205 220 210 178 194 185 182 225 226 223 226 165 205 258 168 230 150 150

Year So. Fr. Gr. Gr. Jr. So. So. Fr. So. So. Sr. So. Fr. Gr. So. Sr. Fr. So.

Hometown / High school Suitland, Md. / Paul VI Gahanna, Ohio / Lincoln HS/South Kent Prep (Conn.)

Richmond, Va. / Miller School Houston, Texas / Strake Jesuit HS Norwich, N.Y. / Norwich Lagrangeville, N.Y. / Trinity-Pawling School Jamesville, N.Y. / Jamesville-DeWitt New York, N.Y. / St. Anthony HS/Brewster Academy (N.H.) Westport, Conn. / Fairfield Prep Elizaville, N.Y. / New Hampton School, N.H. Union, N.J. / Roselle Catholic Brick, N.J. / Christian Brothers Academy Edison, N.J. / Gill St. Bernard’s School/St. Joseph’s (N.J.) Jamesville, N.Y. / Jamesville-DeWitt Huntington Woods, Mich. / Berkeley Uniondale, N.Y. / Uniondale Westport, Conn. / Fairfield Prep/Choate Rosemary Hall Agoura Hills, Ca. / Agoura High School

Position F F G G G G G G G C G F F F F C

Height 6-8 6-10 6-1 6-5 6-7 6-4 6-6 6-6 6-5 7-4 6-4 6-9 6-9 6-6 6-6 7-1

Weight 218 210 195 215 221 200 195 204 165 233 208 236 235 --- 209 304

Year Jr. Fr. Fr. Fr. So. So. Jr. So. Fr. So. Jr. Sr. Fr. Fr. Jr. Gr.

Hometown / High school Atlanta, Ga. / Whitewater Naples, Fla. / IMG Academy Indianapolis, Ind. / Arsenal Technical Chipley, Fla. / Chipley Lakeland, Fla. / Oak Hill Academy Las Vegas, Nevada / Las Vegas Villanueva, Casanare,Colombia / Findlay Prep Lowell, Mass / Tilton (N.H.) School Vienna, Va. / Montverde Academy N’Djamena, Chad / Montverde Academy Scarborough, Ontario, Canada / Huntington (WV) Prep Haddock, Ga. / Jones County Burlington, Ontario, Canada / Don Bosco Prep (Ind.) Orlando, Fla. / Trinity Prep Milton, Fla. / Milton Lagos, Nigeria / Tennessee Temple

FLORIDA STATE No. 0 1 2 3 4 5 11 14 20 21 22 23 25 33 40 50

Name Phil Cofer Jonathan Isaac CJ Walker Trent Forrest Dwayne Bacon PJ Savoy Braian Angola-Rodas Terance Mann Travis Light Christ Koumadje Xavier Rathan-Mayes Jarquez Smith Mfiondu Kabengele Will Miles Brandon Allen Michael Ojo

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PREGAME PLAYBOOK tyler’s time

beat writer predictions After a close win over Wake Forest, Syracuse (12-9, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) stays at home to take on No. 6 Florida State (18-3, 6-2) on Saturday at noon. Here’s how The Daily Orange beat writers think the game will end.

HEATING UP Since Jan. 16 at North Carolina, Tyler Lydon has caught fire from beyond the 3-point line

CONNOR GROSSMAN (13-8)

MATT SCHNEIDMAN (10-11)

16.7%

53%

JAN. 7-JAN. 14

JAN. 16-JAN. 24

CLIMBING THE LADDER Though he places second behind Andrew White in scoring, Lydon’s offensive production has steadily risen this season

21.7 19

19

13.7

7.7

8.3

10.3

they said it

PAUL SCHWEDELSON (14-7) florida state 73, syracuse 59

SIZZLING BACON This game would be much easier to pick if Florida State didn’t lay an egg against Georgia Tech on Wednesday night with a 22-point loss. But even though the ACC Wheel of Confusion landed on the Seminoles, FSU is still a much more talented team than the Orange. Florida State boasts a well-rounded attack between Rathan-Mayes, Bacon and Isaac.

The Seminoles have only lost three games this year for a reason, and they’ll be too much for Syracuse to handle.

DEC. 27-JAN. 4

DEC. 17-21

DEC. 3-10

NOV. 22-29

SIX GODS The No. 6 Seminoles won’t shoot 28.2 percent (20of-71) from the field again like they did in a shocking 22-point loss to Georgia Tech on Wednesday night. Florida State, led by Dwayne Bacon, Xavier RathanMayes and freshman standout Jonathan Isaac, is one of the most shocking teams in the nation in terms of how it started the season. From Dec. 31 to Jan. 21, Leonard Hamilton’s squad won five of six games, all against ranked ACC teams. What won’t be shocking, though, is the result in the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon.

NOV. 11-18

florida state 75, syracuse 66

JAN. 16-24

POINTS PER GAME

CHOPPED After more than a month of harmony in the Carrier Dome, Syracuse finally loses on its home court for the first time since falling by 33 to St. John’s on Dec. 21. Florida State has proven itself over and over again as one of the nation’s best teams — facing six ranked conference opponents in succession and winning five of those contests — and Syracuse’s season has simply gone the opposite way. SU didn’t do much against similarly-ranked teams like Notre Dame and UNC to offer much hope that it can stand up to a quality conference opponent. Perhaps SU will hang around for the first 20 minutes, but expect the Seminoles to close out this one handily.

JAN. 7-14

florida state 84, syracuse 65

bacon bits Dwayne Bacon has been a force for the Seminoles this season.

Take at look at some key stats about the FSU guard:

I know we can do more. I know this isn’t our ceiling.

We’re still struggling a little bit to get everything together.

Taurean Thompson

Jim Boeheim

su freshman forward

su head coach

BACON’S POINTS PER GAME CASHING IN Bacon leads the Seminoles in scoring and clocks in at eighth in the ACC

We love being home here in the ACC. Just got to keep it going.

Not being in those situations, it’s easy to not make good plays.

Tyler Lydon

Jim Boeheim

su sophomore forward

17.1

su head coach on close games

33.7

big man

18

14 10 Points per game in ACC play

9 4

NOTRE DAME

0 BOSTON COLLEGE

VIRGINIA TECH

MIAMI

2

4

PITTSBURGH

5

50

588

THOMPSON FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DURING ACC PLAY

12

NORTH CAROLINA

10

21

COIN FLIP Taurean Thompson has made exactly half his shots since beginning conference play, going 29-58

352.6 REST OF TEAM

21 18

SHOOTERS SHOOT Bacon ranks first in ACC play in percentage of shots taken, per Kenpom.com

WAKE FOREST

Minutes per game in ACC Play

BOSTON COLLEGE

POINTS AND MINUTES

28

BACON’S PERCENTAGE OF SHOTS TAKEN

BACON MINUTES

32

TOPSY-TURVY It has been an up-and-down ride for Taurean Thompson since ACC play began. The freshman big man has struggled to find consistent minutes and scoring.

WORKHORSE Bacon has played 588 minutes this season, while the rest of the ‘Noles — who have appeared in at least 20 games — average 352.6 minutes total

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