No. 16 Florida State (10-2, 6-1 ACC) continued its run of dominance with 81-59 beat Miami hurricanes (6-9, 2-8 ACC). It was the Seminoles’ sixth consecutive victory over the Canes and the FSU’s third consecutive double-digit victory. The ‘Noles were sloppy offensively in the first half, but smothered ONE in the glass and defensively. A second hot shot led to FSU’s third straight win.
The state of Florida continued its trend towards quick starts. The defense started early, forcing four Miami spins in the first four minutes. The upsets allowed the FSU to be aggressive on the counterattack. A quick 7-0 streak, spurred by RaiQuan Gray’s game on both ends, led to an early timeout by Jim Larrañaga with Florida State winning 9-3 just over four minutes.
FSU was scorching beyond the arc this season, but got off to a slow start against Miami. The ‘Noles lost their first four three points and were only 36% on the field in the second media timeout. Despite the slow start in the attack, the State of Florida still had a 6 point advantage because of its stifling defense. Eight minutes into the game, the Hurricanes had two baskets made and seven overturns.
Sardaar Calhoun, coming from a 13-point career record against Clemson, pushed FSU from the bottom with a triple. Nathanael Jack followed with three of his own, rewarding the great men of the Seminoles after several offensive rebounds. With 12 minutes of play, ‘Noles had six offensive rebounds, while Canes had only seven defensive rebounds. The domination of the glass led to a 20-11 lead in the U-8 media timeout.
The Seminoles opened their first double-digit lead in the game, with Scottie Barnes making consecutive buckets. Malik Osborne made three consecutive bullets and a 15-point lead with a beautiful hook shot, leading to Miami’s second timeout. MJ Walker then drained a corner three before Rayquan Evans’s easy layup increased the lead to 20. Larrañaga quickly called his third time with 3:52 remaining for the break, leaving him with only one time in the last 24 minutes.
UM returned to the game in the last 3:52 of time, with a 12-2 run behind three three, including two from Isaiah Wong. However, the Seminoles still went into the break with a 35-23 lead. The half story was the FSU’s recovery domain. The ‘Noles folded their canes (22-11). The state of Florida also showed its depth, with 14 points more than Miami (14-0).
Eight of the ten FSU players who saw the time broke the score, but it was an unusually sloppy offensive half. The state of Florida had a turnover rate of 21%. Walker led with seven points. Ferry Koprivica had six points and four bags. The Seminoles (best 3-point ACC shooting team entering the game) hit 48.3% of the field, but only hit 3-11 (27%) from the bottom. Miami (worst 3-point ACC shooting team entering the game) was only 32% off the field, but shot 5 to 13 (38%) beyond the arc.
Walker and Koprivica started the Seminoles on the right foot in the second half. Walker showed his courage and senior intelligence on the Canes’ first ball possession when he pulled a load on the track. The big man followed him, converting an e-one into a beautiful Evans pass on the next ball possession. But Miami got hot behind the exit arc from the locker room. Anthony Walker drained his second triple before a Kameron McGusty jumper reduced the deficit to single digits for the first time since the 7:30 mark of the first half.
A Gray slam off a good Barnes plate extended the lead back to double digits outside the U-16 media timeout. Florida State’s next possession consisted of three offensive rebounds, leading to a Calhoun tray and a 13-point lead. FSU’s defense started to turn the heat back on when Walker received a strike from an intercepted pass.
Wyatt Wilkes followed with a triple in possession of the next ball, forcing Miami to use its last timeout with 13:04 remaining. A deep pass by Malik Osborne made it 54-33 in the U-12 media timeout.
As Miami dropped from three, it once again became apparent that FSU is very good at basketball, UM is not, and another thrashing was going on. Wilkes ‘second triple and two technical free throws from Calhoun (after the Canes tried to request a fifth timeout) increased the Seminoles’ lead to 24 in the next media timeout. During the first 12 minutes of the break, the state of Florida was 52.6% of the field, 3-5 of the depth and 7-7 of the charity band.
The Seminoles stood out at the end of the game. Calhoun was the highlight of the night, with an absolute ax from an alley-oop slam from an Evans pass.
Tanor Ngom followed up with a powerful poster about the next possession. The Canes were dressed for the occasion, dressed in black for the game of rivalry.
The state of Florida hit 51.6% of the field, while 6 to 18 from the bottom. The ‘Noles dominated the boards all night, beating the Canes by 21. Osborne posted the first double-double of his FSU career with 11 points and 10 bags. Gray also had a double-double (his first) with 10 points and 11 bags. Walker and Calhoun added 11 points to lead FSU’s balanced attack.