FSU basketball wins free throw contest

With the Seminoles now nationally ranked, a lot of casual fans were probably tuning in to their first game of the season. They hoped to see the Florida State high flying act that leads the ACC in scoring, but instead they saw refs blowing their whistles. A lot.

The first half alone featured 32 fouls, and one Manhattan player was in the game with four and could have been the only player I’ve ever seen foul out before halftime.

In the end we were treated to 55 fouls and 62 free throws. The ‘Noles made 27-40 on their way to an 83-67 win.

Dwayne Bacon led FSU with 16 points. Xavier Rathan-Mayes had 10 points, five assists, and four rebounds. Trent Forrest, who capped the game with a thunderous put-back dunk, had 10 points and three steals. Jonathan Isaac had a nice line with nine points, eight rebounds, and four steals.

There’s not much to learn from this game. FSU experimented with their zone defense (including a brief zone press) in the 2nd half. They racked up the steals (11) and blocks (6) against an overmatched team. And they attempted their fewest 3s of the season (6).

Now the 11-1 Seminoles have a quick turnaround with a Monday matinee vs Samford.