UF and FSU
FSU hopes to learn from miscues, finish strong versus Xavier
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Florida State center Michael Ojo let out a deep, relieving laugh from the core of his chiseled 7-foot, 310-pound frame.
Fellow senior center Jarquez Smith said he and his teammates on the Seminoles bench were antsy toward the end of their opening round victory against Florida Gulf Coast late Thursday night.
The No. 3-seeded Seminoles were admittedly nervous in their first NCAA Tournament appearance in five years, but were able to advance to the second round for a matchup against No. 11 Xavier today at 6:10 p.m. at Amway Center.
Next up at stake for the inexperienced Seminoles: a possible trip to the Sweet 16.
“It’s our first time being here. We’ve never been here before,” Ojo said. “Coming in, it’s a different environment. It’s a different crowd. The floor is different. It’s not Florida State, it’s not FGCU’s [court]. This is March Madness. The madness has begun.
“It was a little different, but we calmed down. I’m just happy were able to finish up and make big plays at the end.”
The Seminoles were able to ride their star players to a victory
as leading scorer Dwayne Bacon delivered 25 points and nine rebounds and standout freshman Jonathan Isaac had 17 points and 10 rebounds during the 86-80 victory against the Eagles late Thursday.
But FSU had trouble securing the win, with FGCU trimming a 12-point lead to four points in the final minute before the Seminoles pulled away.
Now, Florida State turns its attention to Xavier, which finished seventh in the Big East and was a buzzer-beating 3-pointer away from playing for a conference championship. The Musketeers beat Maryland 76-65 on Thursday.
“The biggest lesson for us is being able to close out games,” third-year FSU guard Xavier RathanMayes said. “When we have a team away, we have to be able to really just step on their throat, and close out a game at a high level. If we’re
able to do that, we’ll keep advancing.”
FSU shot poorly from 3-point range, making only 2 of 13 attempts (15.4 percent), down from a season average of 35.6 percent. The Seminoles also shot below their 69.2 percent season average from the free-throw line, finishing 24 of 39 at 61.5 percent.
But when the game was on the line, Bacon, Isaac and Rathan-Mayes made timely free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
“Obviously, we would love not to be as stressed as we were the last couple minutes through the game, but the main thing is just winning and moving on,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said.
After playing in Thursday’s late game, which ended shortly after midnight, the Seminoles gathered for a breakfast and brief film session around 11:30 a.m. Friday and had some down time to relax before their afternoon practice session. FSU was slated to dive further into its game plan on Friday night.
Xavier coach Chris Mack, a former Wake Forest assistant, is familiar with Hamilton’s defensiveminded teams, and the Musketeers are preparing to battle against FSU’s towering frontcourt of Ojo, Smith and 7-4 center Christ Koumadje.
FSU plans to keep tabs on Xavier leading scorer Trevon Bluiett, who had 21 points during the win against Maryland.
The Seminoles hope their defense can help them grind out a victory and first Sweet 16 appearance since falling to Final Four participant VCU in 2011.
“We’ve just got to do what we’ve been doing all year, playing defense at a high level, pressure the basketball and take them out of their sweet spots,” Rathan-Mayes said. “If we can do that, I think we can be successful.”