Florida State fans had to have had that “ugh, here we go again feeling” early Thanksgiving afternoon after watching the then No. 25 Seminoles blow an 18-point second half lead in an 89-86 NIT Season Tip-Off loss to Temple. The Owls entered the contest 2-2 with defeats at the hands of New Hampshire and Massachusetts and were an 11.5-point underdog coming into the game.
The bugaboo in the defeat was the same as in many of the losses from last season and that was defense. Or in FSU’s case, a lack thereof.
In the 3-point defeat last week, the Seminoles allowed Temple to score 58 points in the second half, shoot 53 percent from the field and a remarkable 8-for-14 from beyond the 3-point arc. Throughout the second half, FSU was routinely broke down off the dribble, forcing help to come to the ball-handler and was then slow to rotate to the shooters in the corner.
To make matters worse, the Owls were able to cash in with 18 second chance points. Many of the Owls’ many points in the second half came after FSU failed to box out or corral the rebound on the miss. 17 of Temple’s 36 rebounds in the game came on the offensive end.
The loss in Brooklyn not only served as the first setback of the 2016-17 season for FSU, but a potential bad loss on the NCAA Tournament resume’. Fortunately for the Seminoles, the Owls were able to follow that win up with an 81-77 victory over No. 19 West Virginia, making the loss not as bad as it seemed at the time. Not only that, but the way the Seminoles have responded to the loss has been nothing short of admirable.
Although the way Florida State finished Monday night’s 75-67 victory over Minnesota in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge left much to be desired, the overall defensive effort was nothing short of stellar. On a night where whistles blew if an on-the-ball defender breathed too heavy, FSU held Minnesota to just 32 percent shooting, 7-for-21 from downtown and won the battle on the glass against a good Minnesota front line of Reggie Lynch and Jordan Murphy.
Throughout the early parts of the season, Florida State had struggled with big players capable of scoring out on the perimeter. Winthrop’s Xavier Cooks, Detroit Mercy’s Chris Jenkins and Temple’s Quinton Rose — all 6-8 guards — put up a combined 67 points on FSU.
On Monday night, Amir Coffey, also a 6-8 guard, for Minnesota looked to be a real challenge for the Seminoles to defend. Coffey came in averaging better than 15 points per game on 53 percent shooting. In the victory, the FSU combination of Terance Mann, Dwayne Bacon and Trent Forrest held the talented youngster to a career-low seven points on 3-for-10 shooting.
Monday’s win was the second of two consecutive great efforts on the defensive end for FSU. One day after the disheartening loss to Temple, FSU picked itself up off the mat and concluded the NIT Season Tip-Off with a 72-61 win over Illinois. The 61 points is the fewest FSU has allowed this season.
Though the Seminoles did struggle to contain 6-6 guard Malcolm Hill, who finished with 18 points, they kept the rest of the Fighting Illini in check. An Illinois team that came in making nearly 10 3-pointers per game and shooting better than 41 percent from downtown was held to 5-for-22 from deep and less than 33 percent shooting from the field. Take away Hill’s productive afternoon and the Illini shot less than 29 percent from the field and 3-for-18 from beyond the arc.
As horrific as FSU’s defense was in the second half of the loss to Temple last week, it may have served as a wake-up call for the Seminoles. Over the last two games, FSU has played its best two statistical games defensively.
There was never any doubt that Florida State had the ability to put the ball in the basket. Whether or not it could keep it out of the other basket was the question mark. If the last two contests are any indication, with effort, the Seminoles can do that as well. To make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years, they’ll need to consistently.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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