Defense shows up too late as FSU loses at Pitt

They say that defense travels. Well, not today.

Florida State gave up a ridiculous 41 points in just 30 first half possessions, never stringing together their trademarked live ball turnovers. Pitt beat them off the dribble. The ‘Noles routinely lost sight of the ball and couldn’t help. And Pitt knocked down open shots.

The 2nd half began the same way. Pitt was up four at the break, and quickly extended that lead to 10, and then to 15. That’s when Coach Hamilton sent Dwayne Bacon to the bench.

Finally, the unit on the floor began to execute. They got stops. They pressured the ball and the passing lanes. A 15-point deficit was cut to a single possession with nearly eight minutes left.

But that was it for Florida State. They weren’t able to continue to shut down the Pitt offense, and they couldn’t get enough scores to keep up.

In the end it was 80-66.

FSU falls to 21-6 (9-5), and is in danger of dropping out of the top four seeds in the ACC Tournment which is where they need to be to earn a double bye.

Xavier Rathan-Mayes led FSU with 12 points. Jonathan Isaac scored 11, and Terance Mann scored 10. Dwayne Bacon was held scoreless for the first time in his career.

FSU now has a quick turnaround and host Boston College on Monday night. BC has had six days to prepare.