Jimmy Boeheim picked up his second foul less than seven minutes into the game. Syracuse was holding a three point lead over Florida State at the time. In came Symir Torrence, back from a head injury suffered against Duke. That three guard lineup sparked a 14-2 run that put the Orange up 15. The lead would grow to 23 at the half, and a 15-2 run would push the lead past 30. Syracuse would cruise in the second half, leading by as many as 42, on its way to an 96-57 victory over the Seminoles in the second round of the ACC Tournament.
With the win, Syracuse improves to 16-16 on the season and advances to face the top seeded Duke Blue Devils in the quarterfinals. That game will tip at noon Eastern on Thursday and be broadcast on ESPN.
The Syracuse defense was active and effective early, especially from Cole Swider on the back line. He had one block and one steal, but also got deflections and prevented open looks in the corner. Offensively, Swider paced the Orange attack with 28 points on 9-15 shooting, including 4-6 from three point range. He added 13 rebounds as well.
Syracuse used that strong defense to get out into transition, outscoring Florida State 31-13 in fast break points. After giving up six offensive rebounds in the first few minutes of the game, Syracuse controlled the boards and won that battle 52-35. The Seminoles shot just over 32% for the game and was just 2-25 from beyond the arc. The Orange, on the other hand, made over 51% of its shots while hitting 11 three pointers.
Joe Girard added 16 points and four assists without a turnover. Buddy Boeheim had 14 while Jimmy Boeheim had 12. Frank Anselem gave Syracuse some energetic and impactful minutes off the bench with nine points, 14 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Torrence finished with nine points and nine assists.
Caleb Mills, who had torched Syracuse in the first two meetings making seven of 11 from three point range, was just 1-7 from beyond the arc and finished with five points. Matthew Cleveland led the Seminoles with 13 points.
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