The Daily Nole

Florida State Upsets Clemson in Overtime, 81-79

Clint Eiland/The Daily Nole

Florida State Seminoles basketball defeated the 11th-ranked Clemson Tigers 81-79 on Wednesday night in Tallahassee.

After a rough first half, the Seminoles (18-8, 7-7 ACC) produced an incredible second half and completely flipped the script. A Trent Forrest layup tied the game 70-70 and put overtime on the menu. Despite not scoring for the first three minutes of overtime, Florida State once again reversed course and went on a 11-5 run to finish with a victory.

Observations

  • The crowd for Wednesday’s game might have been the worst of the season. Not surprisingly, the Seminoles did not come out with the fire that they usually do. Clemson (20-5, 9-4 ACC) got off to an early 7-2 early lead mainly because of poor offense from Florida State.
  • Braian Angola could not get out of his own head. He coughed up three turnovers in the first five minutes and was promptly benched by head coach Leonard Hamilton for it.
  • Florida State had seven turnovers, went 1-for-4 from the free throw line, and shot below 40 percent in the first 10 minutes. It might have been the worst start of the entire season. The Noles looked confused and unenthusiastic about playing basketball.
  • That being said, Mfiondu Kabengele provides a lot of hope for Seminole fans. He’s clearly giving 100 percent each time he steps on the floor, and he has consistently shown flashes of being a dominant inside presence. In time, he will be a star for the team.
  • Florida State began to break through when Terance Mann stopped being passive and started to attack on offense. Once he got aggressive around the 10-minute mark, he quickly had eight points and the Seminoles went on a 10-0 run.
  • Whether it was luck or skill, Clemson converted on nearly every finish down the stretch of the first half. Florida State could not muster enough of an offensive response and the Tigers once again opened up a sizable lead as the half ended. It was 41-29 when they entered the locker rooms.
  • Clemson shot 44 percent from 3-point range in the first half and 48 percent overall. While some shooting is hard to defend, Florida State didn’t help its case by committing 11 turnovers.
  • If you thought the first half start was bad for the Seminoles, the first couple of minutes in the second half were probably worse. The Tigers came out firing on all cylinders and grew the lead to 18.
  • The difference was that the Seminoles got their act together very quickly after the first few minutes. When the 17-minute mark hit, Florida State unleashed a comeback that saw them go on an 17-2 run in short order. They pulled within one possession by around the 6-minute mark.
  • The most impressive part of Florida State’s comeback was the fact that it didn’t rely on any one player. The scoring was spread out, and the defensive was simply a fantastic team effort. Clemson had six turnovers in nine minutes and actually surpassed FSU in that category.
  • Florida State allowed very little breathing room by constantly pushing the pace and going for fast break opportunities. It helped fuel the offense and tired out Clemson.
  • At one point it was tied 59-59. From then on, Clemson maintained a consistent 4- to 8-point lead. Part of that was good shooting on its end, part of it was Florida State being unable to force the turnovers from the first 15 minutes of the half.
  • With under two minutes to go down six, the Seminoles mounted probably their best finish of the season. They went on a 6-0 run after scores by Phil Cofer, Mann, and eventually Trent Forrest, who had a career-night, in the final offensive possession. After not leading for all of regulation, it was 70-70 and heading to overtime.
  • Cofer had an incredible second half. He was shut out of the first with 0 points, but proceeded to come back and drop 17 in the final 20 minutes of regulation.
  • The offense promptly went missing and did not score until two minutes left in the game. Down 74-70, C.J. Walker came down the court and hit a three. The Tigers then air-balled their next attempt and Forrest made an excellent finish to take the first FSU lead with under a minute remaining.
  • Florida State ended the game on an 11-5 run to capture its first ranked victory since Jan. 3 against North Carolina.
  • Trent Forrest deserves a lot of credit for his play down the stretch. He converted some key finishes around the rim and also came up with a huge block near the end.
  • Florida State finished with a higher shooting percentage (52 percent to 46 percent) and less turnovers (21 to 17) than the Tigers.

Notable Numbers

Phil Cofer (FSU): 17 points (8-for-11), 5 rebounds

Trent Forrest (FSU): 16 points (7-for-11), 4 assists

Marcquise Reed (CU): 23 points (8-for-21), 4 assists, 3 rebounds

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply