Another quick update, both the Seminole Baseball Team and Softball Team completed ACC-series sweeps this weekend!

(Sorry about the lack of photos, I was busy building a new home computer after my other one crashed.)

FSU Softball beat Boston College in both games today… a come from behind win in game 1, 7-5 and a blowout in game 2, 8-0.

FSU Baseball beat Duke 12-4!

Both teams will go for the series sweep tomorrow!

A return to JoAnne Graf Field was just what the doctor ordered for the Seminoles. FSU pulled out two victories over FIU; 3-1, 8-0 (in 6 innings). Up next for the ‘Noles is a three game series with ACC opponent Boston College, a doubleheader starting at 1pm on Saturday and a Sunday game at 3pm. As always the games are free to attend at JoAnne Graf Field.

By Bill Swartbaugh

With Todd Galloway’s last second heave falling short, Florida State’s season came to an abrupt end in losing to South Carolina in overtime, 69-68. Poise down the stretch was the difference in the game.

The Gamecocks were able to control the tempo for much of the game as USC often ran the shot clock down close to zero. On defense a tight man defense mixed in with a zone type defense caused numerous problems for the Seminoles. The ‘Noles were held to 42% from the floor and held leading scorer Al Thornton who was still bothered by a lower back injury to just eight points. Despite being at a disadvantage in the post, South Carolina was able to pull down enough rebounds at the right time. Notably were the 13 offensive boards leading to several second chance points just at the time FSU didn’t need them. Add in the nine blocked shots by USC and the 16 turnovers the Seminoles committed that contributed to the defeat.

Leonard Hamilton gave credit to the Gamecocks saying “they did a very good job of defending us”. USC did a good job most of the game in not letting the ball get in too deep and forcing the Seminoles to take the tougher mid-range jump shot.

Hamilton was pragmatic about the loss however. “South Carolina is an experienced team and they made good decisions down the stretch.” Hamilton said afterwards. “But we let one get away from us tonight”

Added the coach, “We were a little careless with a rebound here and a turnover there. But the truth of the matter is that we never should have been in that situation in the first place.”

Alexander Johnson and Isaiah Swann had solid offensive efforts for the Seminoles. Johnson scored 22 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth double double of the season. Swann found the range with 11 second half points finishing with 16 total points.

But it was the 11 combined turnovers from the duo that proved to be costly.

Andrew Wilson added 11 with seven coming in the first half to spark a sluggish offense.

The first half reflected the closeness of the game with five ties with the largest lead being just three points. That margin was provided when Thornton received a pass on the left wing and saw a clear path to the rim along the left baseline jamming in the shot with two seconds left on the clock.

FSU upped that lead right off the bat on the first play of the second half when Jason Rich, all alone under the basket on a nice back cut, hauled in a high pass and laid the ball in between two defenders.

Held without a three pointer in seven attempts in the first twenty minutes, USC connected on three in the first 6:30. Rocky Trice\’s three ball from the right wing gave the Gamecocks a 39-32 lead with 13:29 remaining.

USC increased that lead by one, 44-36, when Galloway’s three from the left corner missed resulting in a three on two break finished off by Tarence Kinsey.

FSU fought back to take a 47-44 lead behind an offensive flurry by Swann. Following Kinsey’s basket, Swann nailed two threes from above the key, a two just inside the key, and finished with a driving lay-up from the right side.

Wilson added to that lead on an offensive put back after Jason Rich attempted a circus shot flipping the ball over his head at the basket.

But the ‘Noles had trouble handling USC’s pressure defense. Tre’ Kelley stole the ball from Swann and converted on the other end.

The Gamecocks grabbed three straight offensive rebounds eventually scoring to make the score 52-50.

Just before that basket Johnson had an opportunity to extend FSU’s lead. But his one-handed slam clanged off the back of the rim. It was a key miss for the Seminoles.

Bryce Sheldon converted a wide open three from the right corner to give USC a 53-52 lead with 3:10 to play. Thornton took the lead back when he was left alone in the lane for the easy slam dunk. Kinsey answered with a three from the left wing to.

USC now led 56-54 with 2:11 to play.

Johnson tied the score at 56 with a floating jump shot.

What looked like the game changing play for FSU, Swann picked off Kinsey’s pass to the wing and went coast to coast for the highlight tomahawk slam. FSU led 58-56 with just under a minute to play.

On the ensuing possession, the ‘Noles defense held and the Gamecocks’ jumper missed its mark. Johnson grabbed the rebound, but Renaldo Balkman slapped it away and scored on the play plus the foul. Fortunately for FSU, Balkman’s 56% free throw percentage came through and he missed the chance to give USC the lead with 33 seconds left.

Folloing that it was a comedy of errors. FSU could not get a shot off in the final 33 seconds as a stiff defense forced Hamilton to call a timeout with 10 seconds left. The ball was then knocked out of bounds with 4 seconds left. Swann was fouled one second later but USC was under the foul limit. The ‘Noles had to take another timeout just to avoid the 5 second count. It only got worse when Swann threw a high lob to Johnson. But Balkman knocked the ball away and banked in a shot for the apparent game winner.

However, the clock started late once again just seconds apart and it was ruled that time had expired.The game went to overtime despite the protests of Gamecocks’ coach Dave Odom.

Overtime only delayed the outcome however. USC built a quick four point lead. Balkman crashed the offensive boards to put the ball in and Johnson completely turned his back on the ball carrier allowing Kelley an uncontested lane to the rim and the layup.

FSU managed to tie the game at 62. However Kelley made a nice floating shot over Johnson from the lane. Kelley picked off the inbound pass to Thornton and was finished off by Trice.

After Wilson’s layup brought FSU back to 66-64, Johnson was called for traveling with 27 seconds left.

FSU was given another chance when Kinsey, the Gamecocks’ best free throw shooter, missed his second attempt from the line. Johnson converted a slam at the other end with 13 seconds left to trail 67-66.

Forced to foul again, this time Kinsey made both free throws. USC gave the ‘Noles another chance by fouling Galloway who connected on both attempts. The Gamecocks even gave FSU yet one more opportunity when the inbound pass was picked off near the timeline. After a long pass to Galloway in the corner, the senior hesitated a moment giving the defense the time to get a piece of the ball.

Galloway’s three point attempt fell far short as time expired and thus ended FSU’s season.

Four Gamecocks were in double figures led by Kelley’s 17 points.

Reflecting on the year, Hamilton felt the team made real progress. “We’ve had ups and downs and fortunately we’ve had more ups than downs.” He also credited the three seniors, Galloway, Wilson, and Diego Romero saying that they gave him the best leadership they have had since arriving at Florida State.

The Seminoles will welcome to the team next fall shooting guard Aaron Holmes, named Co-MVP of the 2006 Senior Showcase All Star weekend, point guard Josue Soto, the Gatorade Florida Basketball Player of the Year, and seven footer Jon Kreft.

Lots of Seminoles were in action this past weekend. Here’s a brief round up of what happened.

The Seminole Softball Team had a tough weekend out west at the Judi Garman Classic. Rain in the Orange County area didn’t help the situation either, as the Seminoles did not get to play their final game of the weekend with Cal St. Northridge. FSU managed to upset #10 Arizona State, however they couldn’t muster another victory this weekend, losing 6-1 to Cal St. Fullerton, 1-0 to Notre Dame and 11-3 to Michigan. The softball team returns to the friendly confines of JoAnne Graf Field this Thursday, where they hope to get back on track.

For a guy that was 0-for-the-season in his limited playing time, Dennis Guinn has shown that he can adjust to the college game. The FSU firstbaseman his his 2nd Grand Slam of the season, as FSU left Blacksburg with 2 victories over the Virginia Tech Hokies. The ‘Noles head out to Jacksonville on Wednesday before returning to Dick Howser Stadium this weekend.

And finally, in women’s basketball, the ‘Noles moved on in the NCAA tournament after defeating Louisiana Tech. They will face Stanford tonight at 9:30PM on ESPN2. The ‘Noles will have to play their best game if they hope to beat the #14 ranked and third seeded Cardinal.

By Bill Swartzbaugh

Florida State hosts South Carolina in round two of the NIT Tuesday at 7:00 PM to be shown on ESPN.

The NIT defending champion Gamecocks advanced by beating Western Kentucky 74-55 last Wednesday. The game was over fairly quick when USC built a 33-18 halftime lead. Tarence Kinsey led all scorers with 23 points. USC finished the regular season at 16-14, 6-10. But after a run to the SEC championship game, the Gamecocks improved their record to 19-15 coming into the game. Against teams participating in this year’s NCAA, USC compiled a 7-9 record including two wins over the team from Gainesville as well as a 49-47 loss in the SEC title game on a last second shot by Joakim Noah.

USC is led in scoring by shooting guard Kinsey. The 6-6 senior guard from Brandon leads the team in scoring at 15.5 ppg and pulls down 4.8 rpg. Improved over last season Kinsey is a top shooter from the perimeter as evidenced by his 40% average from behind the arc and 44% overall. Kinsey is not afraid to take the clutch shot such as the buzzer beater he took to win last season’s NIT championship game. He is also deadly from the free throw line at 86%.

At the swing position is 6-3 senior Rocky Trice. Trice averages 6.8 ppg. Displaying a little more consistency this season in his shooting at 50% from the floor, what Trice best brings to the court is rebounding (3.2 rpg) and even more so defense with 1.3 steals per game. Decent from the stripe, he averages 72% although he does not make trips to the line all that often.

Leading the offense at point guard is Tre’ Kelley. With the 6-1 returning for his junior season, head coach Dave Odom has had the same starting point guard in consecutive years for the first time in his tenure at South Carolina. Odom said of him that “he understands how to run a team.” And Kelley has improved his production over last season. He is the team’s second leading scorer 12 ppg and 2.9 rpg. Kelley runs an efficient offense dishing out 4.38 apg with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.62:1. A good free throw shooter he averages 77% from the line.

The frontcourt is manned by Renaldo Balkman and Brandon Wallace.

Balkman, 6-8, 208, improved his production as well averaging 9.5 ppg and is tied for first in rebounding at 5.9 rpg. Balkman is a player that works best around the basket shooting a team high 61% from the floor. He is not a threat from the arc taking just 11 three point shots. Should FSU need to foul someone, Balkman would be a good candidate as he is averaging 56% from the stripe.

Wallace, a 6-11, 196 pound junior forward, also grabs 5.9 rpg to go along with 7.1 ppg. He is the shot blocking presence for the Gamecocks at 1.74 per game. Shooting 49% from the floor, Wallace is an even better candidate to foul averaging just 51% from the stripe.

F/C Antoine Tisby, G/F Dwayne Day, and G/F Bryce Sheldon all see significant time off the bench. The trio combines for 11.1 ppg and 3.4 rpg.

South Carolina is a team similar to Butler in several ways only with better athletic ability. The Gamecocks like to hold the scoring down scoring 67 ppg. As a team, USC averages 46% from the floor and 36% from the arc connecting on seven three point shots per game. Not a team to make errors, South Carolina commits only 12 turnovers per game.

Relying on pressure defense, USC utilizes their speed and quickness on the perimeter to hold opponents to just 62 ppg and 43% shooting. They often like to employ the same sagging defense that Butler used with success against Florida State.

The Gamecocks hold a slim +.4 rebounding margin.

South Carolina is 9-9 on the road and neutral site games.

The FSU Softball Team pulled out a 1-0 10 inning win over #10 Arizona State last night at the Judi Garlman Classic. This is the first FSU win over a top 10 team since 2004. Play continues throughout the weekend for the ‘Noles!

By Bill Swartzbaugh

In their opening game of the 2006 NIT, Florida State hosts the Butler Bulldogs Friday night at 7:00 PM.

In order to meet the Seminoles, Butler won its first round game over Miami (OH) by a score of 53-52. Held in check all game, the Bulldogs’ leading scorer and Horizon Conference Player of the Year Brandon Polk scored the game winning basket on a tip-in with 2.2 seconds remaining. Butler comes into the game with a 20-12 record finishing second in the conference to Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The record includes a 2-6 mark versus teams in this season’s NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs have wins over Bradley and UW-Milwaukee but lost twice as well to that team along with defeats to Ohio State, Kent State, Indiana, and UNC-Wilmington. The best of the losses was an 80-76 overtime defeat to Kent State.

The main focus of Butler is Polk, a 6-6, 210 pound senior forward averaging 17-9 ppg. Absolutely no threat from outside the arc, Polk works very well around the basket with a team leading 57% shooting from the floor. Despite his size, Polk is active on defense as indicated by his 48 blocked shots far out-distancing anyone else on the Bulldogs. He is the team’s second leading rebounder pulling down 4.6 rpg with nearly half coming on the offensive end. Able to draw fouls, Polk is a mediocre free throw shooter at 62%.

Joining Polk in the frontcourt is junior Brandon Crone. At 6-6, 225 pounds, Crone is the dirty work player leading the team in rebounds at 5.1 rpg but is productive on offense at 9.7 ppg.

Avery Sheets (6-0, 170) efficeintly runs the Butler offense. With an assist to turnover ratio of just under 3:1, the senior point guard turns the ball over rarely. He also averages 9.7 ppg to go along with 2.8 rpg. As the team’s second best free throw shooter at 86%, because of the offense the Bulldogs run, Sheets is not used as a penetrating guard and does not get to the line however.

Where Polk is the force around the basket, Bruce Horan is Butler’s gunner from the outside. Of his 273 shot attempts, just ten and only three of his 112 made have been from inside the arc. Horan averages 10.9 ppg and 2.4 rpg. He is the team’s best free throw shooter at 94%. But as you would expect, he almost never gets to the line due to his role as a spot up shooter from the outside.

Filling out the backcourt is A.J. Graves, a 6-1, 155 pound sophomore. Graves is the Bulldogs second leading scorer at 13.5 ppg. A decent all around shooter, Graves has connected on 41% of his shots and 40% from behind the arc.

Butler will play up to a nine man rotation but generally sticks closer to a seven man rotation. However the bench does not add much offensively averaging just 7.0 ppg.

It will also be a homecoming of sorts for one Butler player. Junior forward Brian Ligon played his high school ball at St Petersburg Lakewood.

The operative word for the Butler offense is screens, screens, and more screens. They screen a team to death setting up the open shot for their top scorers. In working the shot clock, Butler averages 68.5 ppg while holding its opponents to just 61.4 ppg. If the Bulldogs are going to be successful against FSU, they are going to have to control the tempo and not let the Seminoles’ superior transition game get cranked up.

Where Butler really excels is how they hold onto the ball. The Bulldogs just don’t make errors committing less than 9 turnovers per game.

Defensively Butler holds opponents to 46% shooting overall but is much better at the perimeter holding teams to 32% from behind the arc. While no one player is among the conference leaders, as a team Butler hawks the ball well making better than 6 steals per game.

A huge weakness for the Bulldogs is rebounding. Butler grabs just 25.7 rpg while giving up 33.2 to their opponents.

For Florida State to win it is imperative for the ‘Noles not to waste offensive opportunities and force Butler to play catch up. They must use their superior athleticism and play sound, smart defense on each Butler possession for thirty-five seconds and get into their transition game as soon as possible and not let Butler set up in their zone defense. The ‘Noles must also use their height advantage to control the boards.

Television coverage will be on the CSS network and should be able to be heard on the internet for those not at the game or in Tallahassee at http://www.espnflorida.com/ http://sportsradio1470.com/ .

Quick Update: FSU Softball continued their hot streak with a 2-1 victory over the UNC Tar Heels Monday night!