FSU was able to win the game easily, despite Miami making 8-17 3s (47%). A key reason was the extra possessions that FSU was able to generate. The Seminoles limited Miami to just four offensive rebounds, and forced 13 turnovers. Compare that to 11 offensive boards for FSU and just nine turnovers, and that adds up to 11 extra opportunities Florida State had to score. FSU was +10 scoring off of turnovers (17-7) and +3 in 2nd chance scoring (7-4).
With the win, the Seminoles advance to 24-7 (12-6). It is the 3rd time in 26 ACC seasons that Florida State finished with 12 conference wins (the other two only featured 16 games). The 12 wins give FSU the 2-seed in the ACC Tournament, for a team that was picked 8th by the ACC media. FSU will carry a 21-game home winning streak into next season.
Jarquez Smith played his 132nd game as a Seminole, which is 6th all time (Okaro White is number 1 at 139). His 10 shot attempts were the most since his sophomore year.
Michael Ojo, along with Smith, played his final game at the Tucker Center. Though he failed to score, he won the opening tip, grabbed four rebounds, and blocked a shot. His blocked shot moved him past Al Thornton for 19th all time.
FSU won 66-57, in a 62 possession game. Coach Hamilton praised the 2nd half zone as an effective way to slow down Miami’s possessions. One way to examine the effectiveness of a defense is how long it takes for opponents to get up a shot. FSU’s average defensive possession length is 17.8 seconds, which is 274th nationally (ranked from fastest to slowest). In conference play FSU finished 2nd in turnover%, and 2nd in defensive 2-pt%.
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