Orange Tangle in Tallahassee vs. the Seminoles

Game Details: Saturday, Feb. 15, Tallahassee, Fla., 12 p.m.
Television: ESPN2 | Watch ESPN
Live Coverage: Stats
Twitter: @cuse | @Cuse_MBB
Syracuse Links: Notes | News | Roster | Schedule
Florida State Links: Notes | News | Roster | Schedule

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After a narrow defeat at the hands of NC State in the Carrier Dome on Tuesday, the Orange hit the road for a Saturday showdown against No. 8/8 Florida State at noon.

The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 and the Watch ESPN app. Fans can also listen to all the action on the Syracuse Sports Network from Learfield IMG College, including TK99 and ESPN Syracuse locally.

ORANGE UPDATE
After leading scorer Elijah Hughes exited early with a lower-body injury, Syracuse turned to a pair of freshmen to chip in additional minutes and points against NC State. In Hughes' absence, Joseph Girard III put on a dazzling offensive display, depositing a career-best 30 points while also setting new career-standards in field goals made (9) and free throws made (11). His 30 points was a Dome record for an Orange freshman and tied Dwayne "Pearl" Washington for the second-most points in game by a Syracuse first year, trailing only Carmelo Anthony's 33-point performance against Texas in the 2003 Final Four.

Quincy Guerrier provided freshman flair of his own, tallying a career-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Guerrier tied his career best with 10 boards to finish the game with his second-career double-double. Marek Dolezaj (13 points) and Buddy Boeheim (10 points) also finished in double figures, with each player surpassing the 600 career-point mark during the contest. A loss sends Syracuse into sixth place in the ACC standings with a 7-6 record against in-conference foes.

Despite his early exit on Tuesday, Hughes still leads the Orange in scoring (18.6 ppg.) and ranks second in the conference behind Louisville's Jordan Nwora (18.8 ppg.). Buddy Boeheim (16.3 ppg.) ties with Notre Dame's John Mooney for fifth amongst ACC scoring leaders. The sharpshooting sophomore knocks down a conference-best 3.5 3-point field goals per game and places second in 3-point field goal percentage (.400) behind Nwora (.429). The pair of Hughes and Boeheim average the most combined points per game (34.9), the most combined 3-point field goals per game (6.0) and the most combined minutes per game (73.2) of any two ACC teammates.

Girard III (12.6 ppg.) and Dolezaj (10.5 ppg.) round out the Syracuse players averaging double-figures. Girard III brings an impressive efficiency to the 'Cuse, posting an assist-turnover ratio of 1.9, which is tied for sixth-best in the conference. Dolezaj dominates the offensive glass, tying with teammate Bourama Sidibe and Louisville's Dwayne Sutton for the eighth-most offensive rebounds per game in the conference (2.5).
In finding the open man, Syracuse has done a superb job this season. The Orange own the fourth-best assist per game total in the conference (14.5) and are one-of-two ACC schools, along with Notre Dame, to have three players rank in the top 20 for assists per game (Hughes, Girard III, Dolezaj).

SCOUTING THE SEMINOLES
The top-10 Seminoles return to Tallahassee after suffering a 70-65 loss to Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Monday. The loss was only the third this season against a conference opponent for Florida State with the other two coming against Pittsburgh on Nov. 6, 63-61, and against Virginia on Jan. 28, 61-56. The Seminoles enter the contest at 20-4 on the season, posting a 10-3 record against conference foes. Florida State is third in the ACC standings and is 6-0 at the Donald L. Tucker Center against in-conference opponents this season, the only ACC school with an unblemished home record in conference play.

While FSU is tied with Notre Dame for the third-most points per game (75.1) amongst ACC schools, only one Seminole ranks among the conference's top-25 scorers. Sophomore guard Devin Vassell leads Florida State with 13.4 points per game, the fourth-lowest total in the ACC by a player leading his team in scoring. Vassell owns the fourth-best field goal percentage in the conference, knocking down 49.6 of his attempts from the field. Trent Forrest (11.6 ppg.) and M.J. Walker (10.4 ppg.) pair with Vassell to average double-digit scoring totals for the Seminoles.

In his senior season, Forrest has been a key contributor to the success of the Seminoles. The guard's 2.1 steals per game trails only Boston College's Steffon Mitchell (2.3 spg.) for the conference lead. His 4.3 assists per game are also good for eighth in the ACC.

The Seminoles bring one of the conference's best shooting teams to Saturday's showdown, ranking second in the ACC in 3-point field goal percentage (35.8) and third in field goal percentage (45.7). FSU also converts from the charity stripe at the best rate in the conference (76.9 percent) and swats away the second-most blocks per game among ACC teams (5.71). However, the team has not been able to replicate that success on the defensive glass, averaging the second-lowest defensive rebounds per game in the country (23.7).

Head coach Leonard Hamilton is in his 18th season at the helm in Tallahassee. The winningest coach in Florida State history, Hamilton's 356 victories place him as the sixth all-time winningest coach in conference history, trailing only Mike Krzyzewski, Dean Smith, Roy Williams, Gary Williams and Bobby Cremins.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game will be the 12th all-time meeting between Syracuse and Florida State. The Orange own a 7-4 edge over the Seminoles, but FSU has claimed the past two meetings between the schools. In last year's contest, a 23-point showing from Tyus Battle wasn't enough for the Orange in an 80-62 loss.

UP NEXT
The Orange wrap up their two-game road swing with a Wednesday night matchup in Kentucky against No. 5/5 Louisville at 7 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN and the Watch ESPN app.
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Players Mentioned

Tyus Battle

Buddy Boeheim

Marek Dolezaj

Joseph Girard III

Quincy Guerrier

Elijah Hughes

Bourama Sidibe

Syracuse University Athletics