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Finishing out a season with hopes of a postseason bid extinguished is never fun — but hitting a buzzer-beater win to crush the postseason hopes of another team is a pretty good way to do it.
Florida State Seminoles basketball (15-13, 8-10 ACC) managed to secure a .500 regular season record at the very least this past weekend, taking down Virginia 64-63 via a last-second Matthew Cleveland catch-and-heave.
“We’ve had ups and downs, and to deal with all the adversity that we’ve had to deal with this year and for them to come into a team as well-coached and talented as this team, I feel very fortunate to come away with a victory,” head coach Leonard Hamilton said following the win.
It was important not just for the win column, but for the psyche of a young team forced into action early after the bulk of its experienced talent became unavailable.
“We’re trying to utilize these moments as teaching moments to help them understand that life will give you these types of challenges and how you handle them will make a difference in how successful you are in a lot of things,” Hamilton said this week.
The next challenge for the Seminoles comes in the form of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (21-8, 14-4), who have managed to put themselves in a fine position for an NCAA Tournament bid, securing a double-bye in the ACC Tournament while being on the cusp of setting a program record for conference wins in a season.
“I remember several years ago, [Notre Dame coach Mike] Brey said that he thought that the best way for him to be successful is to stay as old as he can be,” Hamilton said. “This team is one of the older, more mature teams in the country — They have five guys on the floor that are all capable of knocking down threes. That’s a different scenario than you normally guard on a regular basis. They make very few mistakes, they don’t foul and they’re shooting a very high percentage of their shots from three.”
FSU vs. Notre Dame tips off at 7 p.m. from Tallahassee, with the game set to be broadcast on ESPN2.
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According to DraftKings, the Seminoles are 2 point underdogs to Notre Dame.
Game notes via FSU
CLEVELAND NAMED ACC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK FOR SECOND TIME
Freshman Matthew Cleveland, who made the shot heard around the college basketball world against Virginia on Saturday, was named the ACC Freshman of the Week on February 28. It marks the second time this season that he has earned the weekly award from the ACC. Cleveland averaged 19.0 points and 5.5 rebounds as he led Florida State to its fourth ACC road win of the season. He scored the game winning 3-point basket with no time remaining in Florida State’s come-from-behind road win at Virginia after the Seminoles were down by 11 points with under 11 minutes left to be played in the Seminoles’ 64-63 win over the Cavaliers. He scored nine points in the final 2:06 of the Seminoles’ victory over Virginia to rally the Seminoles from a nine point deficit (59-50 at the 2:41 mark) to a one point advantage (and win) at the buzzer. He scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half as Florida State came back from a 34-28 halftime disadvantage.
SEMINOLES TO HONOR NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE AGAINST NOTRE DAME
The Florida State men’s basketball team will continue its tradition and wear its special turquoise Nike N7 uniforms in Wednesday’s game against Notre Dame to raise awareness for bringing sport to Native American and Aboriginal youth. It marks the 20th time (and third time this season) the Seminoles will wear the special uniforms. The Seminoles also wore the special uniforms in their 65-64 win over Miami in Tallahassee on January 11, 2022. This season (2021-22) marks the ninth consecutive season the Seminoles will wear the turquoise uniforms. Florida State makes a distinct departure from its traditional school colors to don turquoise Nike N7 uniforms to stand for the importance of bringing sport and physical activity to Native American and Aboriginal youth. “The Seminole Tribe of Florida approached us about this program, and we are honored and excited to wear these unique uniforms,” said head coach Leonard Hamilton. The Seminoles first wore the turquoise uniforms in their 89-61 win over UT-Martin in Tallahassee on November 17, 2013. The Seminoles are 16-4 when wearing the special N7 turquoise uniforms.
Game notes via Notre Dame
A NOTRE DAME WIN WOULD
Set a new program standard for conference wins (15). ... improve the Irish to 7-3 on the road in ACC play. ... improve the team’s record in February to 8-1. ... earn Notre Dame’s first win at the Tucker Civic Center against Florida State.
GAME TRENDS IN 2021-22
Notre Dame is 16-1 when it shoots better than its opponent. ... 13-1 when it makes 10-or-more three-point field goals. ... 11-2 when a Notre Dame player scores 20-or-more points. ... 15-1 when it out-rebounds its opponent.