Narrow loss leaves FSU with sour taste after sweet postseason run
LOS ANGELES -- There will come a time when the members of the 2018 Florida State men’s basketball team will reflect on just how much they accomplished this season.
Getting back to the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive season. Knocking off three higher-seeded teams, including No. 1 Xavier.
Reaching the Elite Eight for the third time in school history. Being in a one-possession game in the final minute, with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
For some of the Seminoles, that time of reflection will come soon. For others, it will take days or even weeks.
Very few of FSU's players could take solace in those accomplishments on Saturday night.
“It’s kinda numb right now,” sophomore point guard C.J. Walker said after the Seminoles saw their season end with a 58-54 defeat to No. 3-seeded Michigan. “I can be nothing but proud for my team for what we did, going to the Elite Eight and being one of the better teams at Florida State. But I’m sad ‘cause we lost. I feel like we could’ve won this game, getting calls we could’ve got or shots that should’ve fell. … I’m proud and sad at the same time.”
Florida State’s loss was even more frustrating because the Seminoles played one of their best defensive games of the year, but still couldn’t come away with the win.
After watching Michigan bomb Texas A&M from the perimeter two days earlier, FSU’s players relentlessly chased the Wolverines off the 3-point line. They contested shot after shot and limited Michigan to just four made 3-pointers on 22 attempts.
But it was FSU’s struggles at the other end of the court that allowed that defensive effort to go for naught. Facing a Michigan defense that was determined to prevent the Seminoles from driving to the basket, Florida State turned the ball over 14 times in the first half. Then the Seminoles' shooting went cold, as they connected on just 7 of 30 shots from the floor in the second half.
The ‘Noles also got nothing out of their transition game, which typically is a team strength.
FSU coach Leonard Hamilton gave credit to Michigan’s defense, but he also acknowledged that his team might have been impatient given all that was at stake in the game.
“I thought we were very, very anxious, sped up somewhat just because I think the importance of the moment,” he said. “We had 14 turnovers in the first half. … I thought we came out in the second half kind of nip and tuck, and they got on a little run, and it was very challenging for us to catch back up, because we just couldn't seem to get in a good offensive rhythm tonight. “You've got to give them credit. I thought their defense really, really took certain things away.”
After trailing by one point at halftime, FSU actually took a brief lead early in the second half. But the Seminoles experienced several dry spells after that and fell behind by as many as 10 points on two different occasions.
At one point, the ‘Noles didn’t score for nearly six minutes.
“I think they did a good job of trying to keep us out of the paint,” said sophomore point guard Trent Forrest.
But as was the case all season, the Seminoles didn’t go away quietly. Both times Michigan pushed its lead out to double-digits, Florida State came roaring back to make it a one-possession game.
The last surge by the Seminoles was most impressive considering they were down by 10 with 2:15 remaining. Just 59 seconds later, it was a 3-point game. And just 10 seconds after that, the ‘Noles had the ball with a chance to tie.
“We just never quit on each other,” Forrest said.
“Our guys are never gonna lay down and take something,” Jones added. “We may not play well some nights. But we’re not gonna quit fighting.”
Oddly enough, that mindset did come into question in the game’s final seconds as the Seminoles elected not to foul after shooting guard P.J. Savoy missed a 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining.
If FSU had fouled immediately, the ‘Noles would have put Michigan’s Duncan Robinson, a 90-percent free-throw shooter, on the line for two shots with about 11 seconds remaining and a four-point lead.
Hamilton, in a contentious postgame interview with sideline reporter Dana Jacobson, said he didn’t have a problem with his players not fouling at that point because the game was effectively “over.”
That answer did not play well with the home-viewing audience.
Even though there was very little chance that the Seminoles could have won in that scenario, it was better than a zero-percent chance, and Hamilton was immediately criticized by members of the media and fans on social media.
In the end, it probably had no bearing on the final outcome. But it was another disappointing aspect to the end of a stellar postseason run.
“It’s tough to lose a game like this, but I’m sure once it all settles down, I’m sure we’ll look back and say we had a great season,” assistant coach Dennis Gates said. “But right now, it hurts.”
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