Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
FSU hopes to keep pace in ACC
TALLAHASSEE — Sometimes a bounce-back victory can do more than just help a team regroup in a time of need.
The No. 15 Florida State men’s basketball team that fell out of the top 10 after two double-digit losses to unranked teams believes its recent win over rival Miami has helped it rediscover itself.
“I think we kinda lost our identity for a couple of games,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said Friday. “We had to get back to who we are in executing all those little things that are necessary for you to win.”
The Seminoles hope to continue playing with the same moxie at home against Clemson this afternoon that they found at Miami after their longest skid of the season — losses at Georgia Tech and Syracuse.
FSU (19-4, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) sits in second place behind North Carolina in the league standings with nine games remaining in the regular season: five at home and four on the road. The Seminoles own the 7-3 tiebreaker over Virginia and Louisville.
Florida State is in pursuit of a top-four seed in the conference tournament, which would afford them a first-round bye. More important, FSU is trying to clinch its first NCAA Tournament berth since winning the conference in 2012.
Hamilton said the difference between his current crop of Seminoles, 3-3 in their past six games, and his title-winning team is experience.
Instead of the luxury that six experienced seniors provided the team in 2012, this Seminoles’ roster is filled with more underclassmen than upperclassmen. As the season has progressed, Hamilton said, his team has not yet formed the practice habits they consistently need to achieve their goals for the season.
“We’re not as consistent with our habits as we would like to be, and that’s probably been the most challenging thing about coaching this team,” Hamilton said. “The effort is good. The focus is good. But some of the things that we ask them to do are not habits yet.”
What Hamilton’s 2017 team has over its 2012 counterpart is size, length and depth. The Seminoles have built an impressive resume this season, highlighted by victories against six ranked teams, two more than the team had during the previous four seasons combined.
FSU hosts Clemson, then NC State on Wednesday, before finishing the regular season with four of six games on the road.