Posted by BillFromTampa

In a dominating performance from start to finish, the Florida State Seminoles literally ran away early from the Purdue blistering the Boilermakers 97-57. It was a high octane show Seminole fans have been craving for some time.

In the process of totally demolishing Purdue, the ‘Noles set or tied three different records in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The forty point margin of victory and shooting 60% from the floor both set new marks for the seven year old contest between the two conferences. The Seminoles also tied the mark set by Duke with 16 steals in the game.’,'From the moment Todd Galloway hit the first shot of the game to give FSU a 3-0 lead, the ‘Noles were in complete control of the game. Using a pressure ball hawking defense and pushing the ball at every opportunity the Seminoles raced out to a 23-6 lead before ten minutes had elapsed off the clock.

In that span five different Seminoles hit five three point shots highlighted by dribble penetration and kick out pass to Andrew Wilson in the right corner.

Just about anything the ‘Noles launched at the basket went in as FSU ripped the net in shooting 65% in the first half.

Four different Seminoles finished in double figures led by Alexander Johnson’s 14 points. The junior center was a perfect 5 of 5 from the floor. Al Thornton and Isaiah Swann each had 12 and Galloway added 11.

Eleven different Seminoles scored in the game.

Purdue just could not handle FSU’s on the ball pressure turning the ball over 28 times. The Seminoles made good use of those miscues by converting them into 41 points. It was an excellent textbook example of creating offense from defense something that pleased Leonard Hamilton immensely.

Hamilton could even laugh off the rebounding difficulties (35 by Purdue to 27 for FSU) and mediocre shooting at the free throw line (15-27) saying “if we play like that every game, I won’t worry too much about that”.

Hamilton praised his team’s defensive intensity throughout the entire game adding that the team “made a conscious effort to stick to the game plan” the entire game.

Not to be overlooked was the defensive effort on Purdue’s leading scorer, Carl Landry. Landry, averaging 21 ppg this season, was held to just 9 points.

When Galloway’s layup high off the glass just before the buzzer sounded, the game was essentially over with FSU holding a commanding 58-23 halftime lead.

Thornton continued the onslaught to start the second half with a three pointer from the left wing. By the 14:20 mark, Thornton’s finger flip gave FSU a 73-31 margin.

The game marked one of the best offensive performances in the Hamilton era to date. Along with the many points scored in transition and from the numerous highlight slam dunks off of those 16 steals, FSU worked well in the half court as well. Although Hamilton commented more improvement is needed in that area, often the team moved the ball around the floor very well.

Case in point was the 10 foot jump shot by Alexander Johnson. Prior to taking the shot every player on the floor touched the ball as the ball was rotated quickly from right to left and eventually to Johnson in the lane.

With the game well in hand so early, that gave Hamilton the opportunity to give his freshmen plenty of minutes. Uche Echefu and Casaan Breeden combined for 15 points over 27 minutes. Both contributed on both ends of the floor while making very few noticeable mistakes.

Jerel Allen also had a career high with 15 minutes making the most of his time with 6 points and 2 offensive boards.

What Hamilton would like to see next is consistency of effort from this game carried over to practice. If the team can accomplish that every time they step on the floor, there’s no telling what they might achieve as the season rolls along.

Next up for FSU is an 8:00 PM tip off against Louisiana Monroe in Tallahassee. The game is to be shown on TV via FSN.