Florida State’s first ever meeting with the Akron Zips will be a forgettable one. The MAC tournament runner-ups outscored the Seminoles 14-9 in overtime on the strength of three three-pointers by Ohio State transfer Nick Dials to defeat FSU 65-60.

It was certainly a game Jason Rich would like to forget. Although he pulled down 10 rebounds, the senior guard’s last game was marred by 10 turnovers at inopportune times and just 7 points.

He wasn’t alone. Toney Douglas and Ralph Mims each had just 8 points.

The Zips’ defensive strategy was obvious; put pressure on the guards when they had the ball, close the driving lanes, and force FSU’s frontcourt to beat them. It worked quite well as Uche Echefu and Ryan Reid had 20 and 14 points respectively.

Douglas however did send FSU into overtime with a driving layup with nine seconds left to tie the game at 51.

But it wasn’t enough as Douglas could not shut down Dials who wide open above the key after Douglas was rubbed off by a screen on the right wing, open in the left corner when Douglas helped on penetration, and although Toney had a hand in his face, Dials nailed his third three of the extra period from the right wing.

The Seminoles started the game in a manner they had managed to avoid for quite a while namely a long cold shooting slump. The ‘Noles went 9:30 making just two baskets on their way to trailing Akron 20-5.

FSU managed to work its way back with better defense (Akron after shooting 5-6 from the floor shot 3-18 at one point) and took a 26-25 lead with 2:45 left in the half.

Akron took the lead back and with a chance to take a halftime lead Rich was called for over and back when he was double teamed out at the timeline 10 seconds before intermission.

The second half saw a back and forth affair with six lead changes and one tie in the first six minutes.

A wide open jumper from the free throw line by Echefu and a runner by Rich gave FSU its largest lead at 40-36.

The Zips took control and ran up a 48-42 lead when Dials nailed a three from NBA range.

It was looking bleak for the Seminoles until Linhart, a 70% shooter from the line, missed two free throws and was called for traveling in the late stages of the game.

That set up Douglas’ layup after Mims had made two charity shots.

But, despite controlling the boards 43-29, too many turnovers (23) and a efficient, patient style of offense that has often given FSU problems were too much for the Tribe to overcome in overtime.

Prior to the game, the ‘Noles were 6-0 in first round games of the NIT.

And so ends the FSU men’s basketball season with a record of 19-15 missing an opportunity to reach twenty wins for a third consecutive season for the first time since the 1992-1993 season.

“Even though it was manageable there for three-fourths of the first half, the tempo was such that it took its toll on us,” Hamilton said.

“We have been fairly successful when we keep the game at a pace of about 70 (points), but Carolina scrambled the game with their run-and-jumps and trapping our ball screens, and I didn’t think we responded very well to it”, Hamilton said. “That’s the trick to them when they’re executing their defensive philosophy, and they kind of took us out of our offensive rhythm, and we never seemed to regain our composure, and that’s a credit to them. Their offensive rebounding in the first half, I think they had 11. Their perimeter people had about eight or nine of them. I think they scored a lot of points on put-backs. You don’t have to give Carolina a whole lot because they’re going to score a lot themselves. A lot of it was a result, I think, that we were just somewhat fatigued and got in foul trouble early and really, really had to expend so much energy digging ourselves out of a hole that at the end of the game, we didn’t have enough in the tank to make that one last comeback.”

Obviously, we allowed the game, well I’m not really sure we allowed, but the game got out of hand for us really at the beginning. We had several easy baskets that I thought were like fool’s gold for us. When we went up six or seven or eight (points) right there early in the game. We made some baskets, but the pace of the game, the tempo of the game was set at that point. I think that we allowed ourselves to gain control of the pace of the game. Right now, matching up against a team that is averaging 90 points is not really good for us with the depth that we have, and the pace of the game, even though it was manageable there for three-fourths of the first half, the tempo was such that it took its toll on us.

“We cut it back to about six, but we’re not the kind of team right now that can dig out of a hole and then maintain the same type of energy,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said.

“They never stopped coming,” Florida State senior Jason Rich said afterward.

“It could have helped us a lot but we still have an opportunity to take care of business on Saturday and take care of business in the ACC Tournament,” Douglas said. “We’re not just out of it. Just like we made a run of three games we could do the same thing Saturday and into the NCAA Tournament.”

“You’ve always got a chance,” Hamilton said. “We’ve got to come back and play well against Miami at home, we got to go into the ACC Tournament and we’ve got to win games. It’s that simple. When you look back at the history of the NCAA Tournament, there have been a lot of teams that have played themselves into the tournament [by playing well in their conference tournament].”

On shooting 70% in the second half, “The second half, offensively, we were pretty doggone good,” UNC coach Roy Williams said.

“A couple of things I can’t do,” Lawson said. “I don’t think I can jump as high as I used to, so I took my time and tried to pull up and little things like that. Holes I feel like I can normally get through, I feel like I can’t, so I just take my time and pass it around sometimes. My form feels good, and the release feels good,” he said.

“There was no question I was going to try to play through it, no matter what,” Lawson said of the hip pointer. “You get tired of sitting out, so right now I’m playing through anything. It was frustrating; I was kicking things,” Lawson said. “I just got over an injury and I’m hurt again. When I tried to run full speed and stop I couldn’t do it,” Lawson said. “They say it should get better in one or two days. It’s not that bad.”

“I don’t think it’s as much of an adjustment for us,” Hansbrough said. “Maybe for him and getting into shape and things like that, but we’ve played with Ty. It’s just one of those things where it comes right back to you. We’re all used to him.”

“I think Ty is still not comfortable enough to take the ball to the basket in a crowd of people,” Williams said. “We said the other day it is probably going to take a while for him to get comfortable. I said, ‘Are you ready to make one?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’ We called the play and he made it right in front of me. It is important against a team that is trying to keep the ball away from Tyler to make jump shots.”

“When I tried to run full speed and stop I couldn’t do it,” Lawson said. “They say it should get better in one or two days. It’s not that bad.”

“We can kind of use this game as a confidence builder for the next game,” Green said. “We can use every game like that. … Tournament time is around the corner, so we’ve got to be ready.”

“I saw our kids step up, go on the road and get a victory,” Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton said. “Maybe this will give us some confidence.”

“I thought our players really showed them respect and came out playing with a tremendous defensive focus,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We realized that James Dews and McClinton were knock-down shooters.”

“I thought we’d had enough misfortune this year,” Hamilton said.

“I never had a game like that in my life shooting 20 shots and only making three,” Douglas said of his North Carolina performance. “After the game I didn’t want to sleep.”

“I had like two shots I passed up. I wasn’t ready to shoot,” said Douglas, who finished with a game-high 28 points on 9 of 14 shooting. “My teammates kept telling me to be confident. My teammates and coaches told me to shoot and have confidence,” Douglas said. “Making my first shot made a big difference. That is what college basketball is about, to redeem yourself. I wasn’t thinking about it all when the game started.”

“I know from playing basketball and being in this business as long as I have, you’re going to have those kind of nights,” he said. “You just have to have confidence in yourself as a player. Toney didn’t seem to worry about it.”

“He (Douglas) got into the gym early, and he came into this game with confidence.”

Regarding the 11-0 run in the second half, “We played smart during the run,” Douglas said. “We didn’t have any turnovers and made good decisions, milked the clock down and we got what we wanted.”

“It’s a tough loss, you lose a home game, which you needed to win,” Miami coach Frank Haith said. “We have to keep finding a way to get the most out of our guys.”

“We had some layups point-blank and we missed them,” Miami coach Frank Haith said. “I don’t know what to do when you miss those shots.”

Regarding rebounding, “There were so many balls that were within our reach that we just couldn’t get our hands on,” Haith said.

“We did a good job on McClinton and we didn’t let anybody else go off. Our main focus was rebounding because they are a good rebounding team. It was a big win for us”, Douglas said.

“I thought it put too much pressure on our perimeter guys, when we didn’t get anything out of the post,” Haith said. “When our post guys don’t attack, with any type of aggressiveness, it puts strain on our perimeter guys.”

“This was a ballgame we knew we had to find a way to win and we knew it wasn’t going to be pretty,” UM Coach Frank Haith said. “It was tough to watch.”

“We didn’t play well; we didn’t shoot well,” Haith said. “We knew that it would be this kind of game, both teams are struggling, and they made plays and we didn’t.”

”From the 13-minute mark until the 3-minute mark, we scored four points,” Haith said. “We just have to find a way to play better.”

Regarding Miami’s struggles lately, “Want to trade seats with me?” Haith asked rhetorically. “Yeah, it was tough to watch. This is a ballgame we needed to find a way to win.”
“I was getting open looks, I just didn’t knock them down,” McClinton said. “We have to put this game behind us and get ready for Virginia Tech.”

“Our defense stepped it up,” Douglas said. “We did a good job on McClinton and we didn’t let anybody else go off.”

“I just tried to make him (McClinton) work for everything. I tried to do the little things,” said Mims, who also had seven rebounds.

“All I can do is keep working and put this game behind me and get ready for Virginia Tech”, McClinton said.

Toney Douglas made up for a 3 for 20 from the floor performance on Sunday in a big way. Douglas scored 28 points and added 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocked shots in ending a three game losing streak and leading Florida State to a 62-55 win over the Miami Hurricanes.

Part of the credit has to go to Leonard Hamilton for Douglas’ big night. Hamilton started Ralph Mims at the point guard position moving Douglas over to the two spot freeing him from the play making set up responsibilities at the point. And Douglas took advantage of the adjustment shooting 9-14 from the floor including 5 of 9 from behind the arc.

That move not only paid off for Douglas but for Mims as well. Despite scoring just two points, Mims defense particularly on Miami’s leading scorer Jack McClinton was a large factor in getting the win.

Hamilton praised Mims effort on McClinton saying “We rotated a lot of guys on him. But Ralph did a tremendous job on defense out there tonight. Defensively he was our player of the game”

The senior guard did pull down 7 rebounds as well.

In fact Hamilton obviously pleased with his team’s defense had a lot of praise for several players after the game.
“We made them work for their shots tonight. Julian Vaughn’s three blocked shots we big for us. He probably changed three or four more shots. Jordan (DeMercy) gave us a tremendous game tonight with his defense. Toney obviously. And Jason Rich (14 points; 10 in the second half) really stepped up his game as well”, Hamilton said.

Hamilton added “On defense we had outstanding effort. On offense we executed.”

While Miami is second in the ACC in field goal defense (39.7%) and held FSU to 39.2%, FSU’s defense was even better. A lot better in holding the Hurricanes to just 31% shooting.

The game was a back and forth affair for three quarters of the game with eight lead changes and five ties.

It started out as an ugly looking affair as both teams were sloppy in missing shots, turning the ball over, and committing fouls.

Florida State committed its fifth foul of the game with less than four minutes played along with four turnovers.

Neither team held more than a three point lead in the first half. That is until Douglas gave FSU a 30-25 halftime lead. Douglas rebounded a missed shot and passed it out to Mims who found Douglas again. The shot bounced high off the rim and fell through the net with just seconds on the game clock.

Florida State started the second half much like the first half with careless turnovers and fouls.

McClinton’s three pointer gave Miami a 35-34 lead. His two free throws right after that made it 37-34 with more than thirteen minutes left in the game.

It was the last lead Miami would have.

Hamilton called a timeout at the 13:34 mark. Whatever he said to his team, they must have listened because the ‘Noles proceeded to go on a 15-4 run.

Uche Echefu’s two free throws were sandwiched around two jump shots by Douglas. Rich had a driving slam dunk from along the baseline and Douglas canned his 21st point when he was left alone outside the arc. The Seminoles now led 45-37 with 9:30 remaining.

Miami closed the score to 45-41 before Rich scored six straight points.

Another basket by Douglas made it 53-43 with just over three minutes left.

The ‘Canes made one last attempt to pull out the win by press fouling and managed to make it tight on the ‘Noles. Lance Hurdle’s three with :43 seconds left closed the score to 58-55. But FSU made the free throws and three balls by James Dews and McClinton clanged off the rim.

Douglas made sure there was no end of the game disappointment for the Seminoles by rebounding McClinton’s miss and sinking two more free throws with :13 left for the final margin.

Joining Douglas and Rich in double figures was Echefu with 10 points. The trio accounted for all but ten of FSU’s points.

McClinton led the Hurricanes with 16 followed by Hurdle’s 11 points.

After losing six of its last seven games Hamilton called it a very important game that would help with the team’s spirit.

There was one sour note of the game. At the 3:52 mark in the first half Isaiah Swann went down with an injury. Team trainer Sam Lunt originally called it a sprained left knee and Swann did not return to the game wearing a bag of ice on the knee. Afterwards though Hamilton was not optimistic saying “Preliminary reports don’t look good.”

However the Seminole have the next eight days off before hosting Wake Forest at 9:00 PM. Hopefully Swann’s injury isn’t serious and heal up by then along with various other aches and pains the team has at this time of the season.

This time it was the Virginia Tech Hokies beating the Noles, 89-80. I know Leonard Hamilton had a great history of coaching before coming to FSU, but I also know FSU Hoops has been pretty awful for 15 years now. Which makes me wonder why Hamilton got an extension before the season started, and how long he might actually be around after FSU hires a new Athletic Director?

What do the readers think? Give me and your fellow readers some insight, since I really don’t know a ton about FSU Hoops.

The saying goes that you finish the half strong, finish the game strong and you will come away with a victory more often than not.

Unfortunately for Florida State it was the North Carolina State Wolfpack that adhered to that axiom. In rattling off a 17-0 run in the last 5:08 of the first half and a 6-0 run over the last 57 seconds of the game it was the Wolfpack that got back on the bus to Raleigh happy with their come 69-66 from behind win over the Seminoles.

It was a dejected looking coaching staff and group of players that entered the tunnel at intermission after blowing a 31-19 lead to trail 36-31. When Leonard Hamilton removed his jacket as he walked with his head down you knew that was not a happy coach.

It was an even more dejected looking group after the game as players and coaches alike had little to say about the loss other than they all felt like they beat themselves in giving this game away.

After Isaiah Swann hit a three pointer, the sixth of the half for the ‘Noles to lead 31-19, it looked like FSU had the game under control.

However basketball is a game of runs and NCS’s Gavin Grant started the Pack’s spurt with a three from the left wing. The Seminoles contributed to that run when Toney Douglas turned it over that led to a quick two points again by Grant. To make matters worse FSU turned the ball over three more times in the last 2:35 that NCS State quickly converted into points.

Florida State came out in the second half and quickly closed the gap to one point, 36-35, on two free throws and a basket by Uche Echefu off a great pass from Douglas.

Finally FSU regained the lead 43-42 at the 12:32 mark when Jason Rich drove the ball in along the baseline from the right side and slammed the ball in sending the crowd into a frenzy.

The lead jockeyed back and forth for the next several minutes changing hands three times with three ties.

The ‘Noles were able to take a three point lead at 55-52 on two free throws by Douglas with 6:33 remaining. It was NC State’s tenth team foul.

But seconds later Rich would pick up his fifth foul on a ticky tac call by Ted Valentine. Rich commented after the game that Valentine seemed intent on calling the close calls on FSU but somehow never made any of those close calls on the Wolfpack.

The Seminoles managed to hold off NC State however and Ryan Reid’s high screen freed up Douglas for a wide open three giving FSU a 62-59 lead with 2:47 left to play.

Again FSU managed to hold off the Wolfpack. Hamilton had his team run the clock down and put the play in the hands of Douglas. The junior point guard took advantage of Javier Gonzalez’s poor defense and drove down the lane laying the ball in from the left side. Fifty-seven seconds remained. It would be the last points FSU would score.

Swann lost Courtney Fells in transition who tied it on a three ball.

Again Hamilton had his team run the clock down playing either for the win or making sure he would send it into overtime. Neither option happened.

The ‘Noles ran the same play for Douglas. But he was cut off in the lane and didn’t have the legs to make the jumper. Nor was he able to draw the foul.

Reid however was called for pulling JJ Hickson down who canned both charity shots with nine seconds left.

Douglas’s driving layup, again from the left, was easily swatted away by Hickson that was corralled by Gonzalez. He was sent to the free throw line by Echefu making one of two with two seconds left for the final margin of 69-66 and a disappointed crowd of 7,788 quietly left the Donald L. Tucker Center.

Leading the way for FSU was Douglas with 17 points. Ralph Mims and Echefu both had 14 and Swann added 10.

NC State was led in scoring by Fells with 16 points.

While controlling the boards, FSU had difficulty scoring and was held to just 36.8% from the floor. The Seminole defense however was not as effective allowing the Pack to shoot 46.5% for the game.

For the game there were eight ties and eight lead changes.

Hamilton afterwards could only say about the 17-0 NCS run in the first half that “we allowed ourselves to get into a dogfight.”

With the loss the Seminoles fall to 2-4 in the ACC (13-8 overall) making their goal of a winning conference record much more difficult.

It gets no easier as the Tribe heads to Blacksburg to take on the Hokies on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM.

In other basketball news it was not a good day for FSU basketball overall as the Lady ‘Noles lost to Virginia in overtime also by the score of 69-66.

The Seminoles went scoreless for the last five minutes of the first half to trail 36-29. Climbing back from that deficit and again from eight points down in the second half, FSU was unable to keep the Cavaliers from scoring with less than thirty seconds left in regulation.

Jo Kellum’s five straight points in the extra period gave Virginia a lead the Seminoles could not overcome nor could they foul out any of the three Cavs that had four fouls.

FSU/NC STATE SCOUTING REPORT

Time/Location: 1:30 PM; Donald L. Tucker Center; TV – RLF

Records: FSU 13-7 overall, 2-3 ACC, 10-1 home; NCS 12-6 overall, 1-3 ACC, 1-4 away

Last Game: The Seminoles came from ten points down in the second half on the strength of 19 points and 6 steals from Toney Douglas. It was Douglas’ sixth steal of the game off of Sean Singletary and subsequent intentional foul by Jerome Meyinsse late in the game that put FSU ahead for good. The Wolfpack defense faltered down the stretch allowing Georgia Tech to score on 13 of its last 15 possessions in losing 77-74 behind Matt Causey’s 18 points.

Projected FSU Starting Lineup:
Uche Echefu - 11.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg
Ryan Reid - 4.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg
Ralph Mims - 10.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg
Toney Douglas - 14.0 ppg, 2.7 spg
Jason Rich – 12.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg

Projected NCS Starting Lineup:
F 6-7, 212 Gavin Grant - 13.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg
F 6-9, 238 Brandon Costner - 10.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg
C 6-9, 242 J.J. Hickson - 15.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg
G 6-5, 205 Courtney Fells - 10.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg
G 6-5, 205 Marques Johnson - 1.1 ppg. 1.5 apg

About the Wolfpack:
A lot was expected of the Wolfpack when the season started based mostly on the Pack’s performance in the ACC tournament in Tampa when they defeated Duke in overtime in the first round on their way to reaching the final in losing to North Carolina.. ACC and national media took notice of NC State picking them to finish third in the conference and gave them a preseason ranking of 21st by the AP.

Things have not exactly gone as planned for Sidney Lowe and his team. Things got a bit bumpy early was NCS lost the second game of the season to New Orleans, 65-63. But they rebounded well with two consecutive wins against South Carolina and then a hard fought win over then 20th ranked Villanova in preparation for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It all caved in again with a dreadful performance against Michigan State losing 81-58. And it wasn’t that close as the game was over at halftime.

The Pack righted the ship after that with seven straight wins including victories over Cincinnati and Seton Hall.

And then disaster struck again when NCS travelled to Chapel Hill. The Wolfpack went nearly 11 scoreless minutes in the first half as the Tar Heels ended that game early leading 43-13 at intermission. In that game that ended 93-62, NC State’s offense was completely out of sync as far too many times players were trying to play one on one. That was not the recipe for beating a speedy North Carolina squad.

A loss at Clemson followed the Chapel Hill debacle where the Tigers could not be stopped at the three point line notably by Terrence Oglesby; someone FSU fans are all too familiar with this season as well.

Sandwiched between the Tech and Tiger losses was a miracle gift from Miami’s Anthony King in overtime when Gavin Grant, after having just tied the score on a driving layup, stole the lazy inbound pass and scored with 2.3 seconds left.

So it’s been an up and down season so far for NC State.

Many would look to the point guard situation where Engin Atsur graduated and Farnold Degand inherited the position. However Degand was lost for the season with a knee injury and Javier Gonzalez and Marques Johnson have struggled to lead the team.

But make no mistake the Wolfpack is not a team to be overlooked. They are as desperate to win a game as FSU is to get back into the thick of things in the conference race. When NCS plays like a team and avoids the one on one play they are as dangerous as any team FSU will play.

As can be seen from the starting lineup, the Pack have a great deal of size. And leading NCS is the beefy J.J. Hickson. A true freshman, when Hickson gets the ball he is a powerful force around the basket converting 62% of his attempts. It will be necessary for FSU to deny him the ball as much as possible.

But the Seminoles cannot afford to forget about their other big men. Brandon Costner is a player who can play inside or outside and will create matchup problems for the Seminoles. Costner has struggled this season compared to last season being nearly six points per game off his scoring average from last season. That cannot last. If NC State had beaten the Tar Heels in that ACC tournament game, Costner certainly would have been tournament MVP.

Also struggling but can be another dangerous player is Ben McCauley. McCauley has really dropped off in his production this season. But he also has been hampered as of late with a badly sprained ankle.

Despite all that size, oddly enough NCS has not done well on the boards. They have just a +.5 rebounding margin on their opponents. In conference play only, it’s even worse at minus 3.5 good for 11th in the conference.

The good news for NC State is that in 12th place is Florida State with a minus five margin.

Somebody is going to have to do a lot better in that area to help secure a win on Saturday afternoon.

If Florida State is to win this game, they will have to control the boards, put pressure on the inexperienced point guard (although Grant could eliminate some of that by taking over some the bringing up the ball duties), and Leonard Hamilton will have to remember to rotate his players like he did in the Virginia game. It was obvious that the ‘Noles were a lot fresher at the end of the game and that was no small factor in pulling out that victory.

“I want to add another dimension to my game,” Douglas said. “I want to be known as a defensive stopper, too. I like guarding the best guy on the floor.”

“I knew he (Singletary) was going to take over the game,” Douglas said. “I just had to take on the challenge and I was ready for the challenge.”

“I watch a lot of film,” Douglas said. “I had to watch film before I played him. I knew he was going to take over the game. He loves going left-to-right crossover. He couldn’t really put the ball in his left hand, so I tried to make him go right. I went over a little too far, and I knew he was going to cross-over. I ended up getting the steal.”

“That was the turning point,” Douglas said.

“I always like to step up to challenges, especially when it’s guarding the best player on the floor,” Douglas said. “Because that’s how you get better. I always look forward to taking challenges.”

“Toney played one of the best games I’ve seen him play,” teammate Isaiah Swann said. “He shut down one of the best point guards in the league.”

“We knew he was the head of the snake and we had to chop off the head of the snake in order to win that game,” Florida State senior Isaiah Swann said. “Toney [Douglas] did a helluva job on him.”

“Our bigs on those ball screens showed out big and made him re-route and didn’t give him an opportunity to shoot behind those screens,” FSU senior Jason Rich said. “And I think Toney really made him work, too.”

“Toney has a knack for getting deflections,” FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton said. “I thought he made some steals tonight without doing a whole lot of gambling tonight he got his deflections playing real solid defense.”

“I didn’t take care of the ball,” said Singletary, who dished out seven assists but also committed five turnovers. “I just got a little casual. We should’ve definitely won the game, but I didn’t take care of the ball. I take full responsibility.”

“It was beautiful,” senior Isaiah Swann said. “He had six (steals) of them tonight. That’s what we need out of our point guard.”

“That means Toney is up there with him (Singletary),” Swann said with a laugh. “That’s what that means.”

“I think I played good tonight,” Douglas said.

On Singletary’s three pointer at the buzzer, “I know,” Douglas said with a laugh afterwards. “I was like, ‘How did he hit that?’ I even hit the ball when he was going up.”

“Our big guys were the key,” Douglas said. “You can say what you want about me guarding Sean, but without Uche (Echefu) and Ryan and Julian (Vaughn) back there, we don’t win this game.”

“He’s a quick, strong, energetic athlete who can guard the ball well,” Leitao said of Douglas. “Sean didn’t have his A-game today. I thought Sean probably defended himself better than any player they had. … Sean wasn’t Sean today.”

Douglas didn’t take offense at the Virginia coach’s observation. “Even a great player,” Douglas said, “can have a bad game.”

“We feel we’re a much better team than our record indicates,” Hamilton said. “We feel we have to make up for lost time. This may sound crazy, but we feel like we could be undefeated right now. There are so many close games in this conference, every game is a must-win game.”

On this night, coach Leonard Hamilton said of his players, “I didn’t see anything other than determination in their body language.”

“This was a game of runs,” said Hamilton, who earned his 300th career win on his fourth try. “We didn’t have those periods where we just couldn’t fight back because of playing guys too many minutes. I didn’t see any lack of determination. We executed our best down the stretch.”

“We were facing adversity; we lost three in a row,” Douglas said. “We didn’t give up. We could have easily folded and given up, but we didn’t. Everybody, deep down inside, knew that we couldn’t give up and lose this game. That was a big win.”

“We really did the job defensively tonight,” Swann said. “We knew it was a must win. We knew there was a lot riding on this game.”

“Everybody knew deep down inside that we couldn’t give up and lose the game,” Douglas said.

“That was a step in the right direction,” Rich said. “When we can be patient enough to execute the same play four times in a critical game, down the stretch. … That is something that we are capable of, we just have to do more of it.”

“Ryan made some awful big plays down the stretch,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said.

“They did a good job of turning up the energy,” Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. “As they got points, I thought their defense got energized.”

“It was a typical game in this league that would come down to a few, precious possessions,” Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. “When we were up 10, I knew they were coming back, but we just had to hold the fort defensively, rebound and execute. We didn’t do that.”

“I knew they would keep coming after us,” Leitao said. “I thought we’d have enough left in the tank to withstand it, but we didn’t. And they made us pay for it.”

“I knew when we were up 10 that they were coming back and we just had to hold the fort defensively, rebound and execute,” Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. “We didn’t do that, obviously. They did a good job of turning up the energy, and as they got points their defense got more energized.”

“Hence the long minutes for the guys who started the game,” Leitao said. “I don’t know if I remember Adrian ever playing 37 minutes, and Mo [Diane] asked twice to come out of the game, and that almost never happens. I thought fatigue played a part in the end. The shots we were making earlier hit the front rim, and being a half-step slow on defense cost us,” he said.

“It hurts to feel like you’ve got the game in your pocket and lose by two,” said sophomore guard Calvin Baker. “It’s really disappointing. We’ve got to finish off a game.”

Said Singletary: “When you’re on the road in the ACC, the game is never over. We can’t make excuses, we had the game won and didn’t take care of the ball.”

“I felt a little slow,” said Singletary, who injured a hip Saturday in the Cavaliers’ 84-66 victory over Boston College.

“They played hard, you know,” Singletary said. “They played a full 40 minutes of basketball. They played real good on defense. We had the game won but were careless with the ball at the end and they took it.”

“They were on,” Singletary said. “They had us the game won. I take full responsibility for it. They played their hearts out.”

“I thought I swiped at the ball,” Meyinsse said. “He was ahead of me and I just wanted to make sure he didn’t get a three-point play. I feel like I made an attempt at the ball, but the referee from across the court said it was intentional.”

UVa coach Dave Leitao said, “I’m not going to comment on a referee’s call.”

“We ran the play twice,” Swann said. “The first time, Jason Rich got all the way to the basket. The second time, I think my man felt like he better help out, and he helped out a little too much. It was the best look I got all night.”

By Bill Swartzbaugh

Zack asked me to do a Q&A about the upcoming Wake Forest game. Here are my responses to his questions.

1. Wednesday’s loss to Duke must have been tough to swallow considering how close the ‘Noles kept the game until very late. Any thoughts on this loss? How will this loss affect FSU for Sunday’s game?

It was certainly another tough close loss. FSU had its chances after battling back from 17 points down but could not close the deal. With Jason Rich picking up two early fouls, that really threw the game plan off and the team experienced some loss of focus mostly on the defensive end in that first half. It was a much different story in the second. But that is why Duke is Duke. They have experienced this many times and know how to win games at the end. But the one thing about Florida State under Leonard Hamilton is that he has always gotten this team prepared for the next game. With the exception of one game a few years ago coincidently against Wake Forest where the team just fell apart after having several close losses in a row, FSU has picked itself up and has come back out in the next game to give its next opponent a tough battle. I expect that to be the case on Sunday.

2. When I look at FSU’s statistics I see several pretty good players but no one stands out as a superstar. Interestingly enough, four of the five players who average double digits are guards. If you had to pick one (or if you must, two) players who are the team’s “stars” who would they be and why?

And that’s how Hamilton wants it. He wants that scoring by committee concept. This season is the first season he has really gotten that. With the graduation of Al Thornton it was necessary to have this many players in double figures. Last season we tended to stand around and watch Al take over a game. But to name a star, Jason Rich is the first one I think of. He is a player that is determined to take the ball to the rim and is very hard to stop for any team. The weird thing about Jason is I have never seen a guy work so hard to get to the rim, put the shot up, and then see it trickle or roll off the rim as many times as I have seen Jason’s shots. It’s just bizarre how many times that happens. He would have a much better scoring average by probably four points a game if some of those went down. But the other thing about Jason is because of the short handed front court he has been forced to play power forward on defense. He has taken on that role quite well defending players taller and bigger than he is and done an admirable job of it.

3. The ‘Noles have played three pretty close games in conference so far but have only managed one win. What is the missing key to winning these close games rather than losing them?

As with just about any game on any team that loses a close game it’s a play here or there at the end that costs you the win. With Clemson it was two miracle shots, one in regulation and one in the first overtime, that prevented the win for FSU. When it got to the second overtime the Seminoles had zilch left in the tank. Toney Douglas played 49 minutes in that game. Jason played 48. They were dogged tired at that point. Against Duke, Kyle Singlar’s three pointer to take the lead back at 57-55 and then later Greg Paulus’ steal and layup giving the Blue Devils a 60-55 lead with 2:29 left really took the wind out of the sails for FSU. But if you ask Hamilton he will tell you the game was lost in the first half when we did not execute certain defensive principles specifically worked on in practice for the Duke game. Getting down by that large of a margin once again expended so much energy getting back into the game that the ‘Noles ran out of gas again helped along by that short bench. But then there was the Georgia Tech game where I feel Hamilton coached one of his better games because he had just learned less than 48 hours earlier that Solomon Alabi was done for the season and Julian Vaughn was out indefinitely. Here again Rich came through at the end recognizing what the defense was giving and put pressure on the defense pulling up and hitting that game winning jumper. So we know they are capable of winning the tight game.

4. Looking again at Sunday’s game where do you see FSU matching up well against Wake? Anything you expect to struggle with?

Here is where teams have had to deal with FSU. I mentioned Jason at the four spot and what he has had to contend with on defense. The opposite holds true for the opponents. They have had to deal with Jason. A power forward has found it very difficult to contain the guy. And with the four guard lineup that Wake is sure to see I’m not sure the Deacons have enough people with that much foot speed to contain the athletic guards FSU has all the time. At some point they are going to break down the defense. If Isaiah Swann can have one of those games from three point territory that will make guarding against the dribble penetration ability of Rich and Douglas more problematic. Now what worries FSU is Ish Smith. As was the case last year, Hamilton put a lot of focus on stopping Smith. That will be no different this year and with more experience Smith becomes more of a problem. That is helped along with some good young athletic players who can finish plays like Jeff Teague. It did not go unnoticed by the staff that Wake Forest took a ranked Vanderbilt team to the end of the game losing by just three points. Another issue for FSU is that it has not played with the same intensity on the road that it plays with when at home. In addition guarding the perimeter against the three has been a problem for the Seminoles.

5. Put your name on it: What will Sunday’s final score be? What will FSU’s ACC record be this season? Will there be any kind of postseason appearance?

Hey, I’m a FSU fan!! Of course I’m going to pick the Seminoles. :-) A final score? I would expect a some high score something in the high 70’s or low 80’s. And I would expect it to be only a few points difference, maybe no more than five points. As for a final record and postseason, it is my firm belief that this team has the ability to win every game from here on out. That obviously will not happen. But the potential to win over every remaining opponent is there. It all depends on what FSU shows up. One flaw has been not playing a forty minute game. But when it does the team is tough to beat. For this team to reach the NCAA I think it has to win a minimum of ten games in the conference. With the ACC being somewhat topsy turvy after Duke, UNC, and probably Clemson, it’s anybody’s guess who follows those three. So it’s not out of the question at this point to get those wins. And even then it may not be a guarantee because the team lacks a real good resume in its out of conference schedule. The wins over Minnesota and Florida look good. But opportunities were lost against Butler, Providence, and now what looks to be a surprising Cleveland State team as well as a disappointing loss to USF. FSU fans have seen it before where a 9-7 record still was not good enough in the eyes of the selection committee. The NIT is certainly a realistic possibility for this team should they not reach the NCAA.