After back-to-back losses to Louisville and Pittsburgh toward the end of January, Florida State has reeled off four consecutive wins heading into Thursday’s game against Syracuse.

The Seminoles (16-7, 6-5 Atlantic Coast) are tied with the Orange (16-8, 6-5) in the middle of the conference standings and will visit the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m. to spell SU from reaching double-digit off days since its win over Virginia Tech last Tuesday.

Syracuse is on a streak of its own, having won three consecutive games while allowing an average of just 61 points over that span.

“The defense is as good as it’s been,” FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton said of Syracuse on Monday’s ACC coaches’ teleconference. “One of the top defensive teams in the league.”

The Seminoles are fourth in the ACC in points per game during league play. FSU posts an average of 75.5 per contest and its high-powered offense will match up against the third-best defense in the conference in the Orange (64.3 point per game allowed in ACC play).

Hamilton has five first-year rotation players at his disposal, two of which lead the team in scoring. Freshman Malik Beasley is fourth in the conference with 17.3 points per game and freshman Dwayne Bacon chips in 16.2 points per contest.

“They got so many guys that can score,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said on the teleconference. “They’ve got tremendous offensive talent.”

Ten Seminole players see an average of over 10 minutes per game with no single player averaging more than 30. They also have seven players grabbing over three rebounds per contest and 10 players shooting more than 42 percent from the field.

Despite the youth on his hands, Hamilton has made it mesh with Beasley and Bacon at the forefront.

“It’s a challenge any time you try to integrate that many first-year players into your rotation,” Hamilton said.

“I think they’ve got three guys that are going to be first-round draft picks,” Boeheim said.

Since SU’s head coach returned from his suspension, the Orange is 6-2. It stifled one of the nation’s best offenses just over a week ago in a 15-point win against Notre Dame. Up against another of the ACC’s top scoring teams, Syracuse will have to reach into its defensive arsenal once again to continue its hot streak.

“Coach Boeheim has come back with this team and he’s rejuvenated them,” Hamilton said, “and they’re playing awfully well.”

Published on February 8, 2016 at 1:05 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman