The ACC's two remaining undefeated teams -- in conference play -- came to the Tucker Center in Tallahassee this week.
They both left with their first defeats.
Three days after knocking off Louisville, the FSU men's basketball team stunned Miami on Tuesday night, 65-64.
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The Seminoles only led for 5:30 of the 40-minute game, but Malik Osborne hit a huge 3-pointer with 27 seconds remaining to put FSU up by two points. Then after the Hurricanes responded with a 3 of their own with 7 seconds left, RayQuan Evans drew a foul with 0.8 seconds remaining and hit both free throws to give the Seminoles the win.
FSU improves to 9-5 and 3-2 in the ACC. Miami falls to 13-4 and 5-1.
This was the Seminoles' eighth straight victory against the Hurricanes. And it comes just three days after Miami pulled off an impressive win at then-No. 2 Duke in Cameron Indoor.
"Miami has a really, really good basketball team," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "They have the ability, in my opinion, to get to the Final Four. They're so difficult to defend. Every time you make a mistake, they make you pay. They execute very well. They seem to be in sync with each other. ... We feel very fortunate to win this game."
The Hurricanes came into Tuesday's contest averaging nearly 80 points per game, but FSU limited them to 29 in the first half and 64 for the game.
The Seminoles' length on the perimeter caused UM issues with running its offense, but the Hurricanes made some extremely difficult shots and seemed to come up with nearly every loose ball -- including some huge late offensive rebounds -- to lead for the vast majority of the game.
That advantage never grew to more than four points in the second half, however, and FSU actually grabbed the lead a few times briefly in the final eight minutes.
Evans hit a 3-pointer to put the 'Noles ahead 52-50, then freshman Matthew Cleveland hit a 3 to give them a 55-53 advantage. Senior forward Malik Osborne broke a tie with two free throws to push the lead back to 57-55, then Osborne drilled his 3-pointer with 27 seconds left to put the Seminoles up 63-61.
After Miami called a timeout to draw up a final play, the Hurricanes got off two shots near the basket and missed both. But UM junior Jordan Miller grabbed both offensive rebounds, and senior guard Charlie Moore eventually knocked down a 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining to put the 'Canes back on top.
But all that did was set up Evans' heroics.
The Seminoles' senior took the inbounds pass and brought it up the length of the court, then got an angle on Moore as he attacked the basket. Moore attempted to block Evans' shot but was called for the foul, and the point guard calmly drained both shots from the charity stripe for the win.
"It's just a moment you'll never forget," Evans said. "I think my teammates for that. I thank the fans. I thank the coaching staff and everyone involved in this. It was a very special moment."
FSU was led offensively by freshman Matthew Cleveland with 15 points, senior Anthony Polite with 12 and Evans with 11. The Seminoles only got four points from leading scorer Caleb Mills, who tied a career high with 27 on Saturday, but several other players made key contributions.
Osborne, who is still limited by an ankle injury, and Polite each pulled down eight rebounds to help FSU claim a 37-25 edge in that department. And the Seminoles' bench outscored Miami's bench 25-0.
"I thought everybody made winning plays," Hamilton said. "When I look at the stats, I think everybody contributed in some way during the course of this game. And I always say our system is built around the theme of winning games by committee, and I thought that that was very obvious tonight."
As a team, the Seminoles hit 5 of 10 3-pointers in the second half after connecting on just 1 of 10 in the first. And they hit 13 of 16 free-throw attempts.
That helped make up for some sloppy ball-handling at times. FSU committed 15 turnovers on the night -- thanks in part to 10 steals by the Hurricanes -- and UM scored 21 points off of those miscues.
Moore led UM with 20 points in the loss.
"I was very proud of our guys tonight, because that was an outstanding victory for us," Hamilton said. "It was against an outstanding basketball team."
FSU's next game is Saturday at 3 p.m. ET at Syracuse.
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