Syracuse 70 - Florida State 57: Five Big Takeaways

The Syracuse Orange won their third straight game to start ACC play on Sunday night, taking down the Florida State Seminoles 70-57 at the Carrier Dome. Here are five big takeaways:

1. Chris McCullough's injury did not look good.

I won't pretend to be a doctor, but I'm fully expecting today's news on Chris McCullough's to be anything but good news. Nothing about the sequence that surrounded his injury gave reason for optimism. I've attended a decent a number of basketball games -- both college and pro -- and I can't ever remember seeing a player in so much pain. These non-contact knee injuries rarely end well, but let's hope for the best.

2. Trevor Cooney found his touch, again.

After a road trip in which he went 6-of-19 from three, Trevor Cooney seemingly couldn't miss last night. He finished 7-of-11 from beyond the arc and scored a season-high 28 points. Cooney has now scored at least 16 points in six of Syracuse's last eight games, including three 20-point games. He might never play as well as he did on Sunday again this season, but Cooney's confidence is higher than it's ever been, something that isn't likely to change.

3. Rakeem's off nights are still great nights.

By his standards, Rakeem Christmas struggled at times last night, especially early on. The Philadelphia still had 14 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks. It was his fifth double-double of the season and just the second time he's recorded at least six blocks, nearly seven weeks after blocking six shots against Loyola. Christmas isn't showing any sign of slowing down this season, which, obviously, is ideal news for Orange fans.

4. Syracuse is capable of getting comfortable ACC wins.

After beating Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech by a total of three points, Syracuse's win last night might as well have been by 50 points. Because compared to what we've been used to in conference play thus far, that felt like a blowout. And even though, at home, the Orange probably should beat the Seminoles by double digits, it has to feel good for those guys to get a pretty convincing win. And don't look now, but the Orange are now 3-0 in ACC play and have four very winnable games coming up.

5. Kaleb Joseph is a new man.

Kaleb Joseph looks far more comfortable now than he did earlier this season, when he was busy turning the ball over 38 times in just 10 games, a 10-game stretch that saw the Orange lose four times. He finished with seven assists last night and only one turnover. In the last six games, he has 27 assists and just eight turnovers. Not coincidentally, Syracuse is a perfect 6-0 in that span. Joseph, a freshman, seems to have finally found a comfort zone within the offense -- an offense that he's showing more and more of a command of with each passing game. Keep it up, Kaleb. The Orange will need your consistency as the ACC schedule gets tougher.