In a rare early season matchup between Top 10 teams, the third-ranked Orangemen squared off against that other orange team, the ninth-ranked Florida Gators, in an ACC/Big East battle. The most interesting backdrop involved Gators’ coach Billy Donovan, who once faced off against the Orangemen in the 1987 NCAA Final Four as Providence’s lead point guard.

• Syracuse looked to push the ball up the floor at every early running opportunity.  They established scoring balance in the first half and maintained it most of the evening.
• Syracuse junior SG-PG #20 Brandon Triche’s body control and awareness in traffic allow him to finish with either hand in and out of the lane.  He’s big, strong, scores well and is one of the better combo guards in the Big East at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds.  He also defends well within their zone defensive principles.  Triche plays with natural knee bend and slides his feet well to a number of areas on the floor.  He will sometimes get caught in the air when having to make a decision, but he generally plays within himself.   Even when he did get caught in the air, he proved he could find the open man.  Triche does a very efficient job off the screen by curling to get separation for his pass or jumper.  Good hesitation dribbler. He also was decisive off the pass when aligned from the wings beyond three-point range in the 2^nd Half.  Triche can play the one or two-guard.  Although he was just 5-of-13 from the field, he knocked down all nine of his free throw attempts and led the Orange with 20 points. 
• Florida senior PG #11 Erving Walker (5’8, 171, SR) concentrated on establishing himself early from beyond the arc (5-of-9 from 3-point range), but he was able to eventually draw help when he drove to the lane and made some good passes.  His size will be a hindrance, but he’s been a pesky defender. 
• Florida’s #1 Kenny Boynton (6’2, 183, JR) can hit consistently from the middle of the floor from the 15-17 foot range when facing the basket.   Boynton has a nice hesitation dribble off the crossover to get separation on his jumper off against the defender.  His range extends to just over 25 feet.  Early in the 2^nd half, his confidence and quickness off the catch was evident on contested shots.  Both Walker and Boynton use their legs well to increase their range.
• Syracuse SF CJ Fair’s length (6’8, 203, Soph) and competitiveness around the basket allow him to rebound and get to loose balls when he’s active.  His mid-range game is the key to his overall ability to produce offensively, but his 6.6 rebounds/gm are huge in creating extra possessions for the Orangemen.  
• If there is one way to consistently challenge the Orange’s matchup zone, it’s to dribble into the middle of the lane and shoot baskets further away from the run-outs by defenders closing out on three-point shots.
• Syracuse 6-foot-2 senior PG Scoop Jardine’s experience and floor vision make him a viable floor leader.  He shows great anticipation and quick hands when shooting into passing lanes (The team forces 20.9 turnovers/gm).  He became very aggressively offensively down the stretch.  The veteran brings his Philadelphia-style toughness to the court.  While he can penetrate and finish to his left, his best attribute may be his ability to use his frame (190 pounds) to get separation from defenders on pull-up jumpers.  Jardine will have to continue to work on finishing at the free throw line because he hasn’t gotten there with the same frequency as he did in 2010-11.
• The Orange’s big man on campus, seven-foot C Fab Melo, is playing with much more energy on both ends of the floor than he did in 2010-11.
• Syracuse senior F # 32 Kris Joseph’s eyes don’t stay up enough when dribbling to his left, although it’s a positive he can handle with his off hand.  He doesn’t play outside the team’s scheme, but he could still have been more aggressive on the offensive end.  He disappeared for long stretches, while settling for outside shots. He shot just 5-of-14 from the floor and 1-of-5 from the three-point line (14 pts).  

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