It wasn’t the prettiest basketball of the season. But on a quick turnaround after a huge, emotional, win against No. 5 Florida, the Seminoles did exactly what they needed to do against Loyola (MD). When the starters were in, they dominated. And this gave the staff enough cushion to tinker with lineups, and give role players like Wyatt Wilkes and Brandon Allen plenty of reps.
A 3-pointer by Allen pushed FSU’s lead into double-digits for good with 11 minutes left in the first half.
From there, the lead could have ballooned, but Coach Hamilton kept going back to the rarely used players in order to get them some development time.
Florida State led 46-31 at the half, and cruised through a sometimes sloppy second half to a 96-71 win.
FSU is now 8-0, and is one of 10 remaining unbeaten teams in college basketball.
Braian Angola led all scorers with 18 points. CJ Walker continued his excellent run with 15 points, six assists, and three steals. MJ Walker made 4-6 3s on his way to 14 points before fouling out late. Phil Cofer had 12 points, and Terance Mann added 11 to go along with a team high seven rebounds.
FSU has the rest of the week off before facing a dangerous 7-2 Tulane team on Sunday in Tampa.