Florida state basketball advanced to its third consecutive Sweet Sixteen with a 71-53 beat Colorado tonight. The defense of the Seminoles junkyard was in full force, as they forced 19 turns and kept the Buffaloes with a percentage of 35.7% of field goals. Anthony Polite was the MVP on the court, setting his career record with 22 points. The ‘Noles kicked 52% off the ground, their third game in a row with more than 50%. After failing to hit a three-point shot in the first round, they hit six against the Buffaloes. FSU will face Michigan one-seed in the next round.
O’Noles had a less than ideal start. The first possession of the ball in the state of Florida resulted in an exchange and a quick foul on Balsa Korpivica on an illegal canvas. Colorado picked up two offensive boards and two second chance points at the other end, while Korpivica was quickly replaced by Tanor Ngom. FSU made two turnovers on two belongings in a RaiQuan Gray carry.
Anthony Polite put the Seminoles on the table with their first triple of the tournament. Colorado’s D’Shawn Schwartz responded with one of three points of his own. Polite’s second triple gave FSU a 6-5 lead in the first time limit for the media. After an attempt at just one of three points in the last twenty minutes of the first round, four of the first five shots from the Seminoles came from outside the arc.
Malik Osborne maintained the shooting with his first three-point shot out of time. A medium-range jumper from Tristan Da Silva ended a four-minute drought in Colorado. Maddox Daniels tied the game at nine with an easy lay-up. Koprivica suffered a second critical foul in the first eight minutes on the offensive side, forcing him to ride on the bench the rest of the time. The FSU’s seventh turnover took the game to the second media timeout with the Buffaloes on the rise. In the first nine minutes, the state of Florida had four more losses than shots.
The most important player on the court early was Polite. He took the ball from Da Silva before converting it to a medium-range jumper to tie the game at 11. Osborne’s second dunk, an emphatic stroke from an MJ Walker pass, gave FSU the lead in the under-8 media FOR . Over the 12 minutes, Walker did not attempt a field goal, but played at a high level in defense. He forced Evan Battey from 6’8 and 269 pounds to consecutive twists, while Colorado made 3:53 without scoring and turning the ball five times in that period.
Walker took his second load out of the game for Colorado’s seventh turn in six minutes. An Eli Paquet floater ended Colorado’s seven-minute scoring drought, but two layouts by Gray gave FSU a 17-13 lead in the last halftime media timeout. Colorado had nine turnovers for six buckets made.
Wyatt Wilkes threw home a three-point basket for his first basket of the tournament, increasing the advantage to seven. Daniels quickly reduced the FSU lead to four with a triple in possession of the next ball. Both teams exchanged layups before Osborne hit two free throws, the first of the game for either team, increasing the advantage to six. The ‘Noles missed opportunities to open a comfortable lead at the break at the last minute. Osborne lost the front of a one-and-one in the next possession. With the timer off, Scottie Barnes lost the ball and McKinley Wright hit a lost basket on the buzzer to give him a 24-20 FSU advantage at halftime.
Despite taking four points from the top three scorers and just three minutes from Koprivica, ‘Noles escaped the break with an advantage. The Buffaloes hit 31% of the ground and went 2-9 deep. FSU shot 40.9% and was at 4-11 deep. Colorado had 11 turns against nine from FSU, but the Buffaloes had four more turning points. Osborne’s nine points and three scholarships led the Seminoles. Polite added eight points, two bags, two assists and two steals. The ‘Noles held Wright, three-time Pac-12 starter, to four points with 2-7 shots.
FSU seemed determined to involve Koprivica outside the locker room after just three minutes of the first half. The great man brought ‘Noles forward with a tray in the first possession after Walker’s assist. On the other hand, Walker tied his third charge of the game with the Buffs’ first ball possession. A deviation from Walker and Colorado’s second quick spin led to the senior’s first points in the game when he dropped two free throws to quickly increase the lead to eight. Koprivica’s third foul forced him out of the game again, just over two minutes before the break. Five points in a row from Batey, three free throws and a tray, reduced the FSU advantage to three in the first half-time media.
Out of time, the state of Florida began to gain momentum on the offensive side. Two buckets of Polite paint increased the advantage to five. His second tray was the Seminoles’ first chance points. Polite landed three consecutive bullets with an open mid-range jump on Walker’s third assist. A Wilkes float pushed the lead to a seven, but the Buffaloes started to find their bottom shot. Consecutive triples from Keeshawn Bathelemy and Schwartz made the game one point at U-12 TO.
The ‘Noles received a boost of energy from Sardaar Calhoun after a set-play timeout by Leonard Hamilton. Calhoun threw a hand jelly at a Barnes lob for his first basket.
A robbery and lifting of Nate Jack, who did not play in the first round, led to another jam with a hand from Calhoun. Barnes’ first basket, a floater in the paint, increased the lead to seven when FSU came out in a fast 6-0 run. Koprivica converted one and one into a strong dunk to give the ‘Noles an advantage of nine points. It was also Batey’s fourth foul, which forced him to go to the bench just over eight minutes from the end. FSU led 47-38 in the U-8 TO.
After Gray lost the front end one by one, Colorado cut the lead to six and won Schwartz’s third triple. Polite responded immediately with his third triple to give him a career high in points. A coach on Colorado coach Tad Boyle gave Walker a free throw before Gray hit one of the two to increase the lead to 11 with 6:20 remaining.
After a 10-second violation in Colorado, Polite dropped his triple room. The three points crowned an 8-0 FSU run in 1:10, extending the lead to 14 and forcing a Colorado TO with 6:01 remaining. Walker’s first field goal and Evans’ two free throws increased the lead to 16. FSU led 61-47 in the game’s last media timeout. Green Team Vipers came into play with 1:11 remaining and Seminoles with 17.
The Buffaloes tried to contain the Seminoles with all the press, but there was no impediment for the ‘Noles from their third consecutive sweet 16. Osborne finished a transition bucket to extend the lead to 15, before Polite’s fourth steal and a lob to Walker pushed the lead to 17. Walker’s slam was the Seminoles’ seventh consecutive pitch.
Polite led the way with a career record of 22 points in 8-12 shots and four triples. The guard filled the statistics sheet with five cards, four assists and four steals. Osborne contributed 11 points and five scholarships. Gray also had nine points and six bags. FSU shot 52.2% from the ground and went 6-17 from beyond the arc. The Seminoles had only six twists in the second half and hit 62.5% of the ground in the last twenty minutes. The state of Florida surpassed Colorado by 14 in the second half.
Tonight was only the second time this season that the Buffaloes have scored less than 56 points. After drawing a program record allowing only 54 points for UNC Greensboro, FSU posted the best defensive performance in the history of FSU’s March Madness tournament, keeping the Buffaloes with 53 points.
Before Leonard Hamilton took over in Tallahassee, the State of Florida had three appearances at Sweet 16. In the 19 years of Hamitlon at FSU, he took ‘Noles to Sweet 16 four times.