Gonzaga looks forward to rematch with FSU
Seminoles defeated Bulldogs by 15 points in ’18 tournament
HARTFORD, Conn. Florida State upset Gonzaga during the Seminoles’ surprise run to the Elite Eight during last year’s NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs haven’t forgotten the loss and are looking forward to a rematch.
No. 4 seed Florida State (29-7) advanced to this year’s Sweet 16 and will take on No. 1 seed Gonzaga (32-3) Thursday in Anaheim, Calif. Tipoff times and television information have not yet been announced.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 83-71 win over Baylor during which Gonzaga forward Brandon Clarke finished with 36 points and eight rebounds while Rui Hachimura was held to just six points and foul trouble kept him on the bench throughout the game.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few said he’s looking forward to the rematch with the Seminoles.
“Absolutely — 100 percent. They are a really good team. They’re going to demand our best and that’s what we want,” he said. “We wouldn’t want it any other way. It just so happened we got Florida State again in the Sweet 16 and we have a special itch to take care of against them.”
Florida State is coming off a 90-62 rout of Murray State, with 14 different Seminoles earning playing time and 10 of them scoring.
Few noted FSU’s depth is a force to be reckoned with again this year, but he added that Gonzaga is a different team than it was a year ago and he’s hopeful that will make the difference.
“They returned their entire team from last year, so we will watch the tape from that. We’re a much different team this year,” he said. “Again, because like during the warm-ups we were notified that Killian [Tillie] wasn’t going to be able to play, so that was kind of a crushing blow to us, emotionally. Florida State was really good that night. I don’t know if we could have beaten them with Killian, but I know he would have really, really helped.”
The Seminoles’ depth and balance on both ends of the floor allowed them to upset Gonzaga 75-60 during last year’s tournament and they look to continue their next-man-up strategy as they await the return of seniors Phil Cofer and David Nichols.
Cofer experienced soreness in his previously fractured right foot after playing three straight games in the ACC Tournament while Nichols was sore after a Vermont player inadvertently crashed into his legs while diving for a loose ball during the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said that while Nichols was suited up and did warm up with the team, he wasn’t at a point where the Seminoles were comfortable, and they opted not to push him.
“We really don’t know — we know it’s not anything broken. He’s just sore because a guy fell on his leg, fell on his foot and he just couldn’t go,” Hamilton said. “Somebody else had to step up and fill in. That’s unusual this time of year to have two of our top rotation guys not play because of minor injuries. I’m hoping that they’ll be able to play at the next round. I feel like they’ll be back at some point.”
The Seminoles will enter the Gonzaga matchup as the underdogs for the first time this tournament and Few said they’re more evenly matched than the seeding may indicate.
“So we will prepare like crazy,” Few said. “I thought they were really, really under-seeded. I have watched them a bunch this year and they’ve had a great year.”