Three takeaways from Syracuse’s blowout win in the ACC Tournament

The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball season will live to see another day as the Orange blew out the Florida State Seminoles in the ACC Tournament 2nd round. Syracuse was up 23 at the half and didn’t let up in the second half. Now the Orange will come back tomorrow to face the top-seed Duke Blue Devils.

Here are three takeaways from today:

Cole Durant in full effect

The Syracuse forward certainly looked like the NBA star when it came to filling the nets in the Barclays Center. Swider hit for 28 points on 9-15 shooting (4-6 from 3) and his first half allowed the Orange to avoid early foul trouble and build a big lead. It wasn’t just the offense though as Cole had 13 rebounds, a steal and a block and committed zero turnovers. It was the second dominant game in his last three and Syracuse is certainly more dangerous when he’s hitting shots at this clip.

Bench Boost

Both Jimmy Boeheim and Bourama Sidibe picked up two fouls in the first half and the thin Syracuse bench looked like it was going to be exposed. Instead Symir Torrence and Frank Anselem came in and had their best games of the season. Torrence was disruptive on defense and moved the ball on offense on his way to 9 points and 9 assists. Anselem kept the Seminoles from controlling the offensive glass as he grabbed 15 rebounds to go along with 9 points, 4 assists and 3 blocks.

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Rebound the Ball

In the first five minutes of the game Florida State had six offensive rebounds. The game was tied at 8 and it looked like the Orange were going to be out-matched inside even as the Seminoles bombed away from deep. When the game ended Florida State had 13 offensive rebounds while Syracuse won the battle of the boards 52-35. Limiting the second-chance points allowed the Orange to get out in transition and get the offense rolling. With the Seminoles content to miss shots like they were an evolved Louisville Cardinals squad the efforts on the boards kept Syracuse in a comfortable lead throughout. It’s an effort the Orange will need again tomorrow when they take on Duke.