Baseline Breakdown: Florida State defeats Miami again

Zero. That’s how many home losses Florida State basketball ended the 2016-2017 season with following a 66-57 victory on Saturday. The 'Noles swept the Hurricanes this season after going 0-2 against Miami in 2015-2016.

Court level:

The game was a tale of two halves with Florida State narrowing Miami at the half, 37-34. Once the second half began, Florida State’s defense showed up, eliminating any chance of Miami to jump back ahead. After shooting over 50% in the first half, the ‘Noles limited UM to just 31.2% shooting in the second half, with the Hurricanes only making seven shots.

FSU’s defense was effective, and in the NCAA bylaws. The lack of fouls played a significant role late in the victory. With Florida State leading 59-54 and only 57 seconds left on the clock, Dwayne Bacon headed to the free throw line after a shooting foul. He would go on to miss both shots, allowing Miami to grab a rebound in which he got fouled immediately. Instead of heading to the line for two shots, which would have been the case in most games this season, Miami headed to the line for a one-and-one. The shooter, Kamari Murphy, missed the front end, allowing FSU to grab the rebound which led to Dwayne Bacon getting fouled and heading to the line for a one-and-one of his own. Bacon redeemed himself, making both shots to put FSU up 61-54 with 38 seconds left.

Had Murphy gotten, and made the second free throw shot had it been a double bonus, it would have made it a four point game. The Hurricanes would then not have had to foul the Seminoles, and baring a defensive stand and a three pointer, could have been down by just one with around 15-20 seconds remaining, plenty of time remaining for a come back.

Among the hustle stats, Florida State did not just out play Miami, it dominated. In fact, Miami did not have a single fast break point all game compared to FSU’s eight. After forcing Miami to commit 13 turnovers, the ‘Noles capitalized, scoring 17 points compared to Miami’s seven off nine FSU turnovers.

It was a balanced, team effort throughout. Eight players scored at least three points and Seven different Seminoles had at leas one assist with no one recording more than four. Additionally, all 12 players on Florida State in Saturday’s game grabbed a rebound.

Above the Rim:

It happened earlier in the season against UVA ans Clemson, however Florida State was once again able to get a win without any major offensive production for freshman forward Jonathan Isaac. He only attempted three shots, missing all three and only grabbing three rebounds. His two points came from the charity stripe.

Dwayne Bacon stepped up in Isaac’s absence, scoring a team high 23 points on 8-17 shooting, 6-9 from two-point distance. It wasn’t just Bacon who struggled from beyond-the-arc as the team went 4-19 in all. Luckily, the success from two-point range, 21-38, made up for the slack.

Another man who made a key contribution was Jarquez Smith in his final game at the Tucker Center. Smith scored 11 points with five rebounds in his 16 minutes. The other senior, Michael Ojo, did not score on senior day, however grabbed four rebounds and made a block.

After the game, Ojo made a note on all the layups he missed, which was in fact a representation of the team on Saturday. Although FSU went 6-7 on dunk attempts, FSU was under 50% on layup attempts, going 7-16.

After the game:

Waiting at the scorers table:

Florida State has a double-bye in the ACC tournament, receiving a No. 2 seed, and will play the winner between Wake/BC and VT on Thursday.