Syracuse v. FSU 2/8/23 Game Thread
- Thread starter 900 Irving Ave
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Is it me, or do they seem really active tonight? Like, noticeably more active!
Chris Bell 6 rebounds. Girard 7 rebounds. The effort was there!
Mintz impressed in the waning minutes. Spectacular plays. Makes up for the boneheaded plays early on in the game, how about the reverse dunk from Jesse????
Definitely helps when you're playing a weaker team.
With McLeod it almost seemed like they were playing possum. Let him get his points in the first half and then shut him down in the second.
Spot-on observation. Bell, in particular, looked like a completely different player on the defensive end of the floor. Girard and Mintz were particularly effective in the second half when a player identified as a non-shooter (Jalen Warley, jersey #1) was operating at the top of the arc. Being able to disregard him as a shooting threat made their rotations much more decisive. That effort played a role in eating away time late in the game when holding the lead.
I hope that is the start of a trend and not a one-off. We've seen recent seasons where the defense has clicked later on (2020-21 comes to mind, although that had a lot to do with Braswell getting more minutes at the expense of Alan Griffin), but last night's defensive effort (39% FG, 26% 3FG, 16.9% turnover rate) coming mostly from the starters and Williams makes me hopeful. It's likely too late for this season, but seeing it click for the young guys is a big plus.
Good win at least psychologically. I can’t help but think the NCAAs aren’t completely out of the question though I suspect SU will rue the close losses to UVA and UNC back to back. Good to see Bell hustle and contribute when his shot wasn’t falling. He’d disappear earlier in the season so that’s progress. My concern is they all progress and then Mintz goes to the NBA with no real replacement on the roster so the portal almost seems a requirement this offseason.
The losses they’ll really rue are Colgate and Bryant. I will say they’re a far better team now than they were back then…
