Florida State was shorthanded due to illness. But the Seminoles again leaned on senior star Jamir Watkins to carry them to a victory.

Watkins scored 29 points, going 4 of 8 from the floor and hitting 19 of 23 free-throw attempts, as the Seminoles defeated Tulane 77-64 in the Orange Bowl Classic on Saturday. The senior had 18 second-half points while adding five assists, four rebounds, a steal and a block in 37 minutes.

FSU (8-3) had a week off for exams but a number of players caught colds or had flu-like symptoms. The Seminoles were without rotational players like Chandler Jackson, Bostyn Holt, Taylor Bol Bowen and Alier Maluk.

"I thought we played with a tremendous amount of energy in the first half," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "Fatigue set in a little bit. ... We definitely made some good plays there toward the end."

Jerry Deng had 13 points as FSU shot 21 of 43 (48.8 percent) from the floor. Deng was 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, as the Seminoles made just 6 of 17 from deep.

Malique Ewin fouled out with 5:03 to go. He shot 4 of 6 from the floor, scoring 10 points and pulling down eight rebounds.

Watkins has struggled at the free-throw line this season, but he made 16 of 17 in the overtime loss at NC State. In the last two games, he has made 35 of 40 shots from the line.

On Saturday, the Seminoles finished 29 of 35 from the free-throw line. All of them were critical as Tulane pressed and tried to chip away at FSU's double-digit lead.

"Thank God we didn’t miss any free throws down the stretch," Hamilton said.

Kaleb Banks had 33 points and had 16 rebounds for Tulane, but the Green Wave couldn't threaten much as the Seminoles led by double figures most of the way.

Tulane won the rebounding edge with ease (40-27) and FSU had just two offensive rebounds. But considering the circumstances, the Seminoles were forced to play starters heavy minutes while also giving extended playing time to freshmen Christian Nitu and A.J. Swinton.

Nitu had six points and two rebounds but struggled to finish opportunities down low and the ball slipped out of his hands a few times.

FSU plays host to Winthrop on Tuesday at 7 p.m.