For the third straight game, the Seminoles scored over 80 points and cruised to victory. Florida State moves to 3-0 against the Atlantic Sun Conference with a 35 point average margin of victory. Once again, the scoring sheet was balanced, with 5 players scoring in double digits. Dulkys led the way with 14 points in 20 minutes of play, going 4-6 from behind the arc.
For the third straight game, the Seminoles proved their offensive ability. Their offensive efficiency was 118.6 with an eFG% of 66%. The Seminoles had 75 possessions in the game, the most so far this season. With only 14 turnovers, the Seminoles had a TO% of only 18%, the second game in a row with a TO% of less than 20%.
Despite the impressive offensive numbers, the Seminoles only had an OReb% of 19% and only shot 53% from the line. When your up as much as the Seminoles were, you can get away with it. The Seminoles have shot poorly from the line in two games so far this year. Against better opponents, shooting 53% from the line won't cut it. Mercer also out rebounded the Noles 43 to 39. This may have resulted from the fact that Mercer was content to shoot long shots and miss, resulting in long rebounds that are essentially luck to recover.
The stand outs from the game, statistically, were Dulkys with 14 points, Singleton with 14 rebounds, Loucks with 4 steals and Alabi and 5 blocks.The Seminoles had 11 steals and 13 blocks on the evening, demonstrating that the defense is for real. The only double digit scorer for the Bears was Florence with 14; he is arguably their best player.
There were a couple of sour points on the evening: Shooting 53% from the FT line, Kitchen with 4 TOs and Snaer shooting 2-8 from the line. Did these points have a significant contribution to the outcome of the game? No. Did Kitchen's turnovers result from late attempts at highlight tape attempts? Not sure. If you were able to watch the game, please fill us in. These stats should be considered as anomalies and, hopefully, will not be a pattern for the rest of the year.
The defense continues to be outstanding so far, giving up only 49 points per game and holding opponents to a 25% FG%. Blocks have been plentiful. Steals have been generated. And the paint has be closed. Going into the game, the Seminoles had the 6th best defense in the country. Please keep in mind that is only through two games and is second in the ACC behind Maryland. Based on the Pomeroy rankings, Florida State is currently the best team overall in the ACC. But, please don't drink the Kool-Aid yet, there is a long way to go.
This is a great start for the Seminoles and exactly the kind of start they needed before heading into the meat of their OOC schedule. Free throw consistency must improve. At this point, Seminoles fans should be excited by the start. Gibson has been outstanding. Snaer is developing like expected. Alabi continues to dominate and Dulkys is shooting lights out. Singleton is demonstrating that he should be an All-ACC Defensive Team member.
Now the Seminoles have a couple of days off before they head down to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators. The Gators are 3-0, with wins over Stetson, Georgia Southern and Troy. They are playing excellent defense and should be a good measuring stick for this young Seminoles team.