FSU 72 WF 70 The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Good
FSU 15-9 overall, 6-7 ACC. Coming into the game, the Seminoles were in desperate need of a quality win. To have any chance at playing in post season, the 'Noles needed to win this game. With 8:22 left in the game, FSU was down by sixteen, 61-45. With 4:50 to play, the Seminoles had cut the lead to nine, 63-54, but lost leading scorer Jamir Watkins when he picked up his 5th foul. You likely wondered where the points would come from now. With .3 on the clock and an 84% FT shooter at the line and for WF shooting three and down, 72-69, you probably thought there was no way FSU could pull out the win. Unbelievably Cameron Hildreth missed the first of three and after converting the second attempt forced the Deacons to miss the third FT in the hope an offensive rebound and tap in to win the game. But as the ball clanged off the rim and no WF player able to get to the ball, FSU had dug deep with a gutty performance over that final eight minutes with a 27-9 run to come away with the upset win. What the Seminoles did not do right in many stretches of the game, they corrected and bought into what the coaches were telling them over those final minutes. Notably in the second period where there was better passing and not settling for the quick shot. It all culminated in what will be a memorable win in Leonard Hamilton's tenure at Florida State. That obviously had to make for one enjoyable plane ride back to Tallahassee.
Coming into the game, WF was 11-1 at home this season. Make that 11-2 (the other loss being to Duke).
Crossing the 70 point mark was important IMO. The Demon Deacons are a very good defensive team holding opponents to 66,5 ppg. And when they have held the other team to 70 points or less, WF's record is 12-2. Getting over 70 improved FSU's chances to win the game. Under 70 and the odds of winning were much less.
A total team effort. Everybody did something that contributed in some meaningful way in pulling out the win whether it was on offense or defense. For example, back to back three pointers by Justin Thomas, in particular the second that brought FSU to within three, 65-62. Thomas had leaked out behind the WF defense after a Hollis Salis made FT and was all alone in the right corner. After receiving the inbound pass, Daquan Davis kept his head up and spotted him delivering the ball on target. It was as I said a total team effort because there were many plays like that in that final 8:22.
The 'Noles could have folded when they were down 61-45. They did not.
WF just had returned from a road trip to California where they managed to beat both Cal and Stanford. But there was a delay on their return trip. Whether that had anything to with running out of gas in the last minutes, who knows. The Deacs have a short bench to begin with and played really only seven any meaningful minutes. As FSU fans know, Hamilton plays 9-10 players a game. An 18-7 margin in bench scoring clearly was an important factor in the victory.
Three point shooting against the #1 three point defense in the ACC. At least in the second half where the bombs were falling. 6 of 12 to be exact in the second half. Notable would be Taylor Bol Bowen, who thankfully returned from injury for this game, whose three pointer from the key gave the Seminoles a 70-69 lead with 15 seconds remaining. A huge breakdown in the WF defense saw no one guarding Taylor that even surprised him. It was Bol Bowen's third three in the game out of six attempts. He finished tied for a team leading 15 points (Watkins being the other player).
Thomas again following Bol Bowen's three with the totally uncontested slam dunk on a breakaway. He does not make that play without Chandler Jackson delivering the ball to him. Inexplicably WF either failed to or decided not to foul Jackson that would have prevented the basket by Thomas.
Malique Ewin. Clearly he was the focus of the WF defense tonight as the Deacs sent double teams at him or fronted him all game long. You have to credit Efton Reid III who did an excellent job on him much of the game. When he was in the game, FSU's offense struggled. When he wasn't, FSU was able to get some rhythm in their half court sets. But eventually Ewin was able to solve the defense showing again how difficult it is to stop him. He recorded his 9th double double of the season and 7th in ACC play with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bad
Over the first 10 minutes things went well. After that ...... not so much. FSU held a 13-10 lead when the Deacs went on a 14-0 run. Interestingly it was when Bol Bowen left the game at the 10:34 mark that things started to go south for the Seminoles. Clearly when he was in the game, his presence made an obvious positive impact for the 'Noles.
Nice sales job by Salis in getting Watkins to pick up his fifth foul. Yeah ok, Watkins planted a forearm into his chest. There was no way however that the force of that would send Hollis flying backwards to the floor like that. None. We can only assume Salis is taking a drama course this semester.
The possessions on defense in the first half where the Seminole defense was a tad lazy such as the play where Hildreth just drove into the paint looking like he would pass. And when no Seminole attempted to defend him, well heck, why not take the shot. Which he of course made.
Memo to Daquan: You got bailed out my man. Bailed out big time. Why you were even remotely near Hildreth out at the time line much less flying into the air towards him is bumfuzzling to say the least. Thankfully for you (and the team), Hildreth missed that first of three FTs.
Ewin obviously frustrated with missing a point blank floater loses it and ends up fouling the Deac ......... fouling him 90 feet from the basket ...... where no one is ever a threat. Unless your name is Les Henson that is.
The Ugly
That 14-0 WF run that featured such outstanding plays by FSU as Davis totally unaware of where he was on the floor and stepped on the sideline as he was setting the offense. Or Jerry Deng with the three pointer that touched all air. It all contributed to a scoring drought of 5:20.
See if you can guess what this stat represents. 1-11. If you said anything but three point shooting by FSU ...... YOU LOSE!!! Yup, just one three pointer over the first 20 minutes. Thank goodness that turned around in the second period.
35-21 at the half with nothing even remotely working on offense was making it look rather bleak for the 'Noles. There was very little at that point to indicate FSU could win the game.
Up Next
Now here's a real test and opportunity if FSU wants a NCAA tournament resume building win. Clemson comes to Tallahassee on Saturday for a noon tip off against the 23rd ranked Tigers. The game will be aired on the CW network. Clemson (20-5, 12-2) has been on a roll this past week having beaten #2 Duke on Saturday, 77-71, and then turning around quickly to blast UNC on Monday night, 85-65 (and it wasn't that close). You want to put a clear Quad 1 win in the column? This is your chance FSU.
The Good
FSU 15-9 overall, 6-7 ACC. Coming into the game, the Seminoles were in desperate need of a quality win. To have any chance at playing in post season, the 'Noles needed to win this game. With 8:22 left in the game, FSU was down by sixteen, 61-45. With 4:50 to play, the Seminoles had cut the lead to nine, 63-54, but lost leading scorer Jamir Watkins when he picked up his 5th foul. You likely wondered where the points would come from now. With .3 on the clock and an 84% FT shooter at the line and for WF shooting three and down, 72-69, you probably thought there was no way FSU could pull out the win. Unbelievably Cameron Hildreth missed the first of three and after converting the second attempt forced the Deacons to miss the third FT in the hope an offensive rebound and tap in to win the game. But as the ball clanged off the rim and no WF player able to get to the ball, FSU had dug deep with a gutty performance over that final eight minutes with a 27-9 run to come away with the upset win. What the Seminoles did not do right in many stretches of the game, they corrected and bought into what the coaches were telling them over those final minutes. Notably in the second period where there was better passing and not settling for the quick shot. It all culminated in what will be a memorable win in Leonard Hamilton's tenure at Florida State. That obviously had to make for one enjoyable plane ride back to Tallahassee.
Coming into the game, WF was 11-1 at home this season. Make that 11-2 (the other loss being to Duke).
Crossing the 70 point mark was important IMO. The Demon Deacons are a very good defensive team holding opponents to 66,5 ppg. And when they have held the other team to 70 points or less, WF's record is 12-2. Getting over 70 improved FSU's chances to win the game. Under 70 and the odds of winning were much less.
A total team effort. Everybody did something that contributed in some meaningful way in pulling out the win whether it was on offense or defense. For example, back to back three pointers by Justin Thomas, in particular the second that brought FSU to within three, 65-62. Thomas had leaked out behind the WF defense after a Hollis Salis made FT and was all alone in the right corner. After receiving the inbound pass, Daquan Davis kept his head up and spotted him delivering the ball on target. It was as I said a total team effort because there were many plays like that in that final 8:22.
The 'Noles could have folded when they were down 61-45. They did not.
WF just had returned from a road trip to California where they managed to beat both Cal and Stanford. But there was a delay on their return trip. Whether that had anything to with running out of gas in the last minutes, who knows. The Deacs have a short bench to begin with and played really only seven any meaningful minutes. As FSU fans know, Hamilton plays 9-10 players a game. An 18-7 margin in bench scoring clearly was an important factor in the victory.
Three point shooting against the #1 three point defense in the ACC. At least in the second half where the bombs were falling. 6 of 12 to be exact in the second half. Notable would be Taylor Bol Bowen, who thankfully returned from injury for this game, whose three pointer from the key gave the Seminoles a 70-69 lead with 15 seconds remaining. A huge breakdown in the WF defense saw no one guarding Taylor that even surprised him. It was Bol Bowen's third three in the game out of six attempts. He finished tied for a team leading 15 points (Watkins being the other player).
Thomas again following Bol Bowen's three with the totally uncontested slam dunk on a breakaway. He does not make that play without Chandler Jackson delivering the ball to him. Inexplicably WF either failed to or decided not to foul Jackson that would have prevented the basket by Thomas.
Malique Ewin. Clearly he was the focus of the WF defense tonight as the Deacs sent double teams at him or fronted him all game long. You have to credit Efton Reid III who did an excellent job on him much of the game. When he was in the game, FSU's offense struggled. When he wasn't, FSU was able to get some rhythm in their half court sets. But eventually Ewin was able to solve the defense showing again how difficult it is to stop him. He recorded his 9th double double of the season and 7th in ACC play with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bad
Over the first 10 minutes things went well. After that ...... not so much. FSU held a 13-10 lead when the Deacs went on a 14-0 run. Interestingly it was when Bol Bowen left the game at the 10:34 mark that things started to go south for the Seminoles. Clearly when he was in the game, his presence made an obvious positive impact for the 'Noles.
Nice sales job by Salis in getting Watkins to pick up his fifth foul. Yeah ok, Watkins planted a forearm into his chest. There was no way however that the force of that would send Hollis flying backwards to the floor like that. None. We can only assume Salis is taking a drama course this semester.
The possessions on defense in the first half where the Seminole defense was a tad lazy such as the play where Hildreth just drove into the paint looking like he would pass. And when no Seminole attempted to defend him, well heck, why not take the shot. Which he of course made.
Memo to Daquan: You got bailed out my man. Bailed out big time. Why you were even remotely near Hildreth out at the time line much less flying into the air towards him is bumfuzzling to say the least. Thankfully for you (and the team), Hildreth missed that first of three FTs.
Ewin obviously frustrated with missing a point blank floater loses it and ends up fouling the Deac ......... fouling him 90 feet from the basket ...... where no one is ever a threat. Unless your name is Les Henson that is.
The Ugly
That 14-0 WF run that featured such outstanding plays by FSU as Davis totally unaware of where he was on the floor and stepped on the sideline as he was setting the offense. Or Jerry Deng with the three pointer that touched all air. It all contributed to a scoring drought of 5:20.
See if you can guess what this stat represents. 1-11. If you said anything but three point shooting by FSU ...... YOU LOSE!!! Yup, just one three pointer over the first 20 minutes. Thank goodness that turned around in the second period.
35-21 at the half with nothing even remotely working on offense was making it look rather bleak for the 'Noles. There was very little at that point to indicate FSU could win the game.
Up Next
Now here's a real test and opportunity if FSU wants a NCAA tournament resume building win. Clemson comes to Tallahassee on Saturday for a noon tip off against the 23rd ranked Tigers. The game will be aired on the CW network. Clemson (20-5, 12-2) has been on a roll this past week having beaten #2 Duke on Saturday, 77-71, and then turning around quickly to blast UNC on Monday night, 85-65 (and it wasn't that close). You want to put a clear Quad 1 win in the column? This is your chance FSU.
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