Florida St. earns payback, bounces top-seeded Xavier
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Florida State senior Phil Cofer knows the biggest key to making any comeback, especially in the NCAA Tournament. Don’t get rattled. Now, the Florida State Seminoles are on their way to the NCAA Tournament’s round of 16 for the first time since 2011 after upsetting top-seeded Xavier with a furious rally.
P.J. Savoy made a 3-pointer with 1:08 left to give Florida State its first lead of the second half, and the Seminoles rallied from a 12-point deficit to beat the Musketeers 7570 on Sunday night in the second round of the West Region.
“Everybody kept their composure, and that’s what you got to do in March Madness,” Cofer said. “And I think we did it.”
The Seminoles did just that when trailing by 12 with 10:42 left and outscored Xavier 31-14 down the stretch, including the final seven points of the game.
“We were much better than Xavier in the last two and a half minutes of the game,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. “Sometimes, when the games are close, that’s all that’s important.”
They made Xavier the second No. 1 seed ousted in the Tournament’s first weekend, sending the Musketeers (29-6) out along with Virginia. It’s a painful ending for a team that returned four starters from a team that lost in the Elite Eight last year — to Gonzaga, the team Florida State (22-11) will play Thursday night in Los Angeles.
“Obviously, tough loss for our group,” Xavier coach Chris Mack said . “Pretty emotional ending, the finality of what I think is the greatest sporting event in our country.”
This was sweet payback for Florida State after then-No. 11 seed Xavier routed the Seminoles 91-66 a year ago in the same round, in the same region. Hamilton lost his top three scorers — two to the NBA draft — from that team.
“Definitely,” Cofer said. “I don’t think anybody gets a chance to play them again two times in a year.”
The Musketeers didn’t get the chance to run away this time around. They led 56-44 with 10:42 left, but didn’t score a field goal after Kerem Kanter’s jumper with 3:56 left.