Basketball Breakdown: No. 14 FSU pulls away for the win at Wake Forest

FSU closed out the regular season with a 65-57 win at Wake Forest. The Seminoles move to 25-6 overall and 13-5 in the ACC, setting a new program record for conference wins in a season.

Above The Rim

Wake Forest feasted from the free throw line, particularly during the 1st half in which their 31 points included 16-16 shooting from the free throw line while FSU went 4-9 (44.4%). Wake Forest finished the game 22-29 (76%) from the charity stripe while FSU shot 11-21 (52%). The Demon Deacons went 16-61 (26%) from the floor and 3-17 (18%) from three. The ‘Noles shot 24-56 (43%) overall and 6-21 (29%) from deep. The ‘Noles made scoring inside difficult, blocking 6 shots, and had 34 points in the paint to Wake Forest’s 18. The ‘Noles also outscored the Demon Deacons 21 to 12 on fast-breaks.

As mentioned in the game preview, Wake Forest is a good rebounding team, especially on the offensive glass. They grabbed a total of 45 boards while FSU had 44. On the offensive glass, Wake Forest had 16 to FSU’s 11 but was unable to convert those into an advantage as they had 17 second-chance points to FSU’s 15.

Court Level

Christ Koumadje came two points shy of a double-double with 8 points, all of which came in the 1st half, and 10 rebounds. He added 3 blocked shots in his 20 minutes of playing time. In stretches, Koumadje dominated the post, and he kept FSU from completely falling apart in the 1st half scoring a third of the ‘Noles 24 points.

Mfiondu Kabengele was also close to a double-double with 7 points and 9 rebounds. He also added 3 blocks. Kabengele ends the regular season as the team’s leading scorer at 13.3 points a game off the bench and is widely thought to be the frontrunner for ACC Sixth Man of the Year.

Trent Forrest led the team in scoring with 11 points while adding 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Trent continues to lead the team with a steady hand, and stuffing the stat sheet, despite being hampered by turf toe for most of the year.

The Seminoles showed off their depth as all 11 players that checked into the game scored at least 2 points, with only Forrest getting into double digits. Outside of the main six-man rotation, Raiquan Gray and Devin Vassell led the reserves with 4 points, and each added a steal.

Up Next

FSU will play in the Quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament on Thursday at 2:30pm, though it will likely tip a little later with another game being played at noon. The ‘Noles will face the winner of the second round game between 5-seed Virginia Tech and 12-seed Miami or 13-seed Wake Forest.