INDIANAPOLIS -- So how long into Monday night's game do you think it took those Colorado players to think to themselves, "Oh, man. This isn't like Georgetown at all! Why are these guys so aggressive? Are they not going to let us just shoot from anywhere we want? What's their deal? This isn't nearly as fun as Saturday!"
The first 10 seconds? The first possession? The second? It was definitely before the first media timeout, I can promise you that.
And when the Seminoles' defensive clinic was over, FSU had secured itself a 71-53 victory and a spot in the Sweet 16 for a third straight NCAA Tournament.
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What Colorado learned on Monday night was the same thing ACC teams learned a good, long while ago: Florida State is a legit basketball power. The Seminoles are consistently one of the top 16 teams in the United States now, which puts them in the top 5 percent of basketball programs in America.
It's not a great team here or there and then back to reality. No, Leonard Hamilton has turned FSU into a consistent force, one that is not just trying to make the NCAA Tournament anymore. The Seminoles are intent on doing real damage once they get there.
On Monday night, the damage was mostly done to the Buffaloes' pysche.
After raining down 16 3-pointers against Georgetown in the first round and scoring almost 100 points, the Colorado offense was completely suffocated by the Seminoles' constant pressure -- as well as the constant switching onto star point guard McKinley Wright IV, who picked the McKinley Wrong time to have his worst game of the season.
"Obviously, McKinley is as good as anyone we've played against in a number of years," Hamilton said. "It took a tremendous effort to hold him down somewhat."
From a whole bunch of guys. RayQuan Evans, M.J. Walker, Scottie Barnes, Nathanael Jack, Anthony Polite and Sardaar Calhoun all took turns chasing Wright everywhere he went.
The plan was simple enough: Don't let him catch the ball in the backcourt; make someone else bring it up. And make Wright really, really work to go get the basketball.
The senior was clearly frustrated, and he finished with 10 points (on 4-of-12 shooting), one assist and five turnovers.
It's a tactic Hamilton and his staff have used before. When a team is so dependent on one player fueling the offense, the Seminoles will do everything in their power to take him out of the game and make other guys -- ones who aren't used to having the ball in their hands as much -- try to run things.
