Orange Return Home for Tuesday Matchup with Florida State

Game Details: Tuesday, January 13, Syracuse, NY, 9:00 p.m.
Live Stream: ACC Network
Live Coverage: Stats
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Syracuse (11-5, 2-1 ACC) returns home to the JMA Wireless Dome as the Orange host Florida State (7-9, 0-3 ACC) on Tuesday night.

Orange Offense Rolling
The Syracuse offense has hit its stride to in early ACC play, eclipsing 80 points in back-to-back wins.

Syracuse delivered one of its most efficient shooting performances of the season against Pittsburgh, connecting on 29-of-52 (.558) from the field while draining a season-best 10 3-pointers in the 83-72 victory.

The Orange have found their stroke from deep in league play, connecting on 22-of-56 (.392) from 3-point range for the third-best percentage in the ACC behind SMU (.466) and NC State (.439).

Sophomore Donnie Freeman is a key reason for the uptick in offense. The sophomore forward is averaging 22.3 points in his three games back from injury. He has led the Orange in scoring in each of those games, including a career-best 27 points against Georgia Tech. He kept it rolling against the Panthers, pouring in 22 points with a season-high three 3-pointers in the victory.

Junior Naithan George leads the Orange with 82 assists this year and has been the team's assist leader in 13 of the Orange's 16 games so far. The junior transfer has seen an increase in scoring as of late as well, averaging 15.2 points over his last five appearances.

Senior William Kyle III is averaging 9.8 points per game. He owns a team-high 32 dunks, including three in the recent win over Pittsburgh.

Defensive Metrics
The Orange have complemented their offensive surge with stingy defense all season, holding opponents to just 65.7 points per game – the second-best mark in the ACC behind only Clemson (65.6).

The opposition is shooting just .399 from the field against the Orange. ACC foes have particularly struggled from beyond the arc against the Orange, shooting just 13-of-60 (.217) over the past three games. The Orange held Pittsburgh to 5-of-26 (.192) from 3-point range in its most recent victory.

Syracuse has been strong at the rim defensively, averaging 6.7 blocks per game, the second-highest mark in Division I. Kyle III has been a major contributor, owning 46 blocks at a rate of 2.88 per game, both ranking in the top five of Division I. On top of his 46 swats, he leads the team in rebounds with 124 for 7.8 per game.

Scouting Florida State
The Seminoles come to Syracuse still searching for their first ACC win, having dropped their first three games of conference play. Florida State fell to North Carolina in their ACC opener before narrowly losing to Duke, 91-87. The Seminoles suffered a 113-69 loss to NC State this past weekend.

While Florida State has been held winless to start ACC play, the Seminoles' offense is averaging 82.9 points per game this season. The Seminoles shoot the second-most 3-point attempts per contest in the nation, averaging 35.3 per game. Florida State has hit 10 or more 3-pointers in a single game in 10 separate instances this season, including 14 makes against Duke. On the other end, Florida State gives up 81.3 points per contest, the lowest mark of any team in the ACC.

Robert McCray V is the Seminoles' leading scorer at 13.7 points per contest. McCray is among the nation's best facilitators as well with 106 assists this season. He had the second most assists in a single game of any player this year, dishing out 17 against last year's NCAA Champions, the Florida Gators, earlier this season. McCray scored 22 points to go with five assists in the Duke loss. McCray transferred to Florida State after spending the previous two seasons at Jacksonville. He started his career at Wake Forest, spending two years with the program.

Kobe Magee leads the Seminoles in 3-pointers made this year with 37. Magee has made four 3-pointers in five games this season, including the contests against North Carolina and Duke. Chauncey Wiggins is also among the leading point-getters for the Seminoles, scoring 12.3 points per appearance.

Florida State is under the leadership of former player Luke Loucks, who is in his first season as a head coach at his alma mater. Loucks returned to Tallahassee after spending time as an assistant coach in the NBA ranks. He won two NBA Championships with the Golden State Warriors in a variety of different roles, including Player Development coach before taking an Assistant Coach position with the Sacramento Kings. Loucks' collegiate career spanned four seasons from 2008-2012. He helped the Seminoles reach the NCAA Tournament in all four campaigns.

Series History
This will be the 20^th all-time meeting between the Orange and Seminoles, with Syracuse owning an 11-8 edge.

The two squads met twice last year, once in the regular season and once in the ACC Tournament. Florida State took the initial matchup while the Orange won the postseason bout, 66-62. Starling scored 27 points in the Syracuse victory.

Syracuse Tickets
Season and individual tickets are available at cuse.com/feature/basketball-tickets

Orange Return Home for Tuesday Matchup with Florida State

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Players Mentioned

Donnie Freeman

Naithan George

William Kyle III

Syracuse University Athletics