FSU eager to make statement by defeating Villanova
Florida State men's basketball coach Leonard Hamilton has all the motivation in the world heading into Sunday's AdvoCare Invitational title match.
The No. 14 Seminoles (5-0) are looking to continue an undefeated start after downing No. 19 LSU 79-76 in an overtime thriller on Friday. Sunday's title match is against defending national champion Villanova and although the Wildcats stumbled early, they've bulldozed the competition so far at ESPN's Wide World of Sports.
Plus, Hamilton has some personal motivation to take down Villanova coach Jay Wright's team.
“The only thing I don't like about coach Wright… my wife keeps telling me how handsome he is,” Hamilton said with a smile. “That's a problem. I'm going to have to tell him about that. Maybe I need to get a little revenge from that standpoint.”
The Seminoles play the Wildcats at 1 p.m. on Sunday and the game will air on ESPN.
Speaking seriously about Wright, Hamilton said, “He's such a nice gentleman. He's a class act. He does a tremendous job coaching his team. I'm excited about having an opportunity to play against a well-coached team like that because it gives us a chance to play against one best in the country.”
Hamilton said his group still has a lot of room for improvement, despite Friday's victory over a ranked LSU squad. The Seminoles didn't shoot the ball well against the Tigers (38.2 percent) but grabbed 22 offensive rebounds.
“I think we still are growing,” Hamilton said. “We're still trying to find ourselves. It's nice to be able to win a game against a really, really good basketball team that really took us right down to the wire and we feel like still have a lot of room for improvement.”
Redshirt sophomore forward Mfiondu Kabengele hit the game-winning 3-pointer on Friday for the of the Seminoles. He praised FSU's depth — the Seminoles' bench outscored LSU's bench 31-14. It was the third game in a row where FSU's bench scored at least 30 points.
“All of are dangerous,” Kabengele said. “All of us can do multiple things. For me, when another guy subs in, I have complete trust… there's no letdown. There's no letup on defense or offense. When I come in, I try to up the ante. Increase my intensity if there's any lags in the game.
“With all of us contributing equally and in different parts of the game, it just makes us very dangerous.”
The Wildcats are unranked for the first time since the 2013-14 season after early-season losses to Michigan and Furman. Still, the national champions are finding their way and marched into Sunday's final with victories over Canisius and Oklahoma State.
‘Nova won the two games by a combined score of 160-114. The Wildcats have been led by veteran guard Phil Booth, a redshirt senior who has averaged 17.5 points over two games in the tournament.
“A good next step for us,” Wright said after his team's victory over Oklahoma State. “We're just trying to get better every game.”
Redshirt senior forward Eric Paschall scored 20 points in the first half of Villanova's victory over Oklahoma State.
“We're a young a team, but I feel like we have great players that want to get better and want to listen,” Paschall said. “I just feel like me and Phil just keep pushing them, leading them, leading by example and then talking to them. Just letting know what Villanova basketball is all about.”
Villanova has had a raucous crowd on its side its games at the HP Field House so far.
“They just show up everywhere, man,” Wright said about his team's fans. “They're awesome. They take great pride in this basketball program and how these guys represent the program. It's fun for us all to be a part of.”