FSU’s History in ACC Tourney “Rubber Games”

Florida State will be taking on Louisville on Wednesday in the ACC Tournament in what will be the third match-up this season between the teams.

The two teams split the regular season contests with both winning on the road. The Cardinals rallied from 17 points down to snap FSU’s 28-game home winning streak on Jan. 10 before the Seminoles returned the favor at the KFC Yum! Center on Feb. 3.

Wednesday’s contest will be the 11th time that FSU has played a team in the ACC Tournament that it split with during the regular season. Here’s a look back on the previous 10 occasions, starting with the most recent:

2017 ACC Tournament Semifinals
Notre Dame 77, FSU 73
March 10, 2017
After Notre Dame and Florida State each won at home against one another last season, the Fighting Irish got the better of the Seminoles with a trip to the ACC Championship on the line. Bonzie Colson and Steve Vasturia each scored 18 points to lead Notre Dame as the Fighting Irish shot 13-for-27 from deep in the victory. Dwayne Bacon and Braian Angola combined for 35 points as FSU was unable to overcome what was a 17-point second half deficit.

2015 ACC Tournament Second Round
FSU 76, Clemson 73
March 11, 2015
Florida State and Clemson each won on the road against one another during the 2014-15 season, but the neutral court advantage proved to be the Seminoles’. Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 30 points as FSU held off a late rally in Greensboro. FSU led by as many as 17 in the second half, but both Rod Hall and Gabe DeVoe had a chance to tie the game for the Tigers in the final minute.

2014 ACC Tournament Second Round
FSU 67, Maryland
March 13, 2014
Maryland’s final ACC Tournament game had an unhappy ending as the Seminoles notched perhaps their most thrilling conference tourney win ever. After Dez Wells hit a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left to tie the game for the Terrapins, FSU’s 7-foot-3 center Boris Bojanovsky slammed home a pass from Okaro White just before the final horn sounded to give the Seminoles the victory.

FSU’s Michael Snaer puts up a shot against Miles Plumlee of Duke Blue Devils during the Semifinals of the 2012 Men’s ACC Tournament at the Philips Arena on March 10, 2012 in Atlanta. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)

2012 ACC Tournament Semifinals
FSU 62, Duke 59
March 11, 2012
It wasn’t as thrilling as his buzzer beater at Cameron Indoor Stadium earlier in the 2011-12 season, but it was again Michael Snaer who hit the 3-pointer that put FSU ahead of Duke for good. Duke had rallied from 10 points down to go ahead in Atlanta before Snaer’s triple made it 58-57. Austin Rivers had a look at a potential tying 3-pointer, but missed for Duke late. Seth Curry nearly got a halfcourt heave to fall to force overtime, but it rimmed out. FSU would go on to beat North Carolina for its only ACC Championship.

2003 ACC Tournament First Round
FSU 72, Clemson 61
March 13, 2003
Leonard Hamilton’s ACC Tournament debut as FSU head coach saw his team shoot 51 percent in what was a de facto play-in game. FSU defensively held Clemson without a field goal for nearly nine minutes to start the second half and outscored the Tigers 44-25 over the final 20 minutes to erase an 8-point halftime deficit. Tim Pickett finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Seminoles while Nate Johnson added 18 points on 4-for-5 shooting from distance.

2002 ACC Tournament First Round
FSU 91, Clemson 84 (Overtime)
March 7, 2002
In what would be Steve Robinson’s final win as FSU head coach, the Seminoles needed overtime to top Clemson in the ACC Tournament play-in game. The Seminoles outscored the Tigers 24-17 in the extra period to advance to face top-seeded Wake Forest. Delvon Arrington finished with 24 points, six assists and two steals in the win.

2000 ACC Tournament First Round
FSU 63, Georgia Tech 62
March 9, 2000
In the opening round of the 2000 ACC Tournament, Florida State’s Ron Hale sent the legendary Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Cremins out on a sour note. Hale scored a game-high 21 points and knocked down a pair of free throws with seven seconds left that turned out to be the game-winners. Jason Collier finished with 19 points to lead the Yellow Jackets, who shot just 6-for-18 from the foul line.

1999 ACC Tournament First Round
FSU 87, Clemson 85 (Overtime)
March 4, 1999
The second overtime contest between Florida State and Clemson appears on the list in what would be Steve Robinson’s first ACC Tournament win as head coach of the Seminoles. Of Robinson’s three ACC Tournament wins at FSU, two were in overtime against Clemson. In the 1999 ACC Tournament in Charlotte, Terrell Baker paced the Seminoles with 28 points. FSU was an efficient 9-for-18 from deep in the overtime victory.

1997 ACC Tournament Quarterfinals
Wake Forest 66, FSU 65
March 7, 1997
Florida State and Wake Forest met three times during the 1996-97 and all three were decided by four points or less. Less than a week after FSU upset the No. 5 Demon Deacons in Tallahassee, Wake Forest got payback in Greensboro. Tim Duncan scored 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to pace Wake in the win. Duncan also iced the game by splitting a pair of free throws in the final seconds. Randell Jackson finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Seminoles.

1996 ACC Tournament First Round
N.C. State 80, FSU 65
March 7, 1996
Pat Kennedy’s final losing season as head coach at Florida State was punctuated by a 15-point loss to North Carolina State in Greensboro. As a team, the Seminoles shot just 3-for-25 from beyond the 3-point arc. James Collins led FSU with 11 points, but on just 3 of 17 shooting and 0-for-10 from deep.

Summary
Looking back on Florida State’s history in “rubber games” determined in the ACC Tournament, the Seminoles are 7-3 and have won seven of the last eight. In four of the prior 10 occasions, the opponent was Clemson. FSU hasn’t played any other team twice under such conditions.

It should be noted that Florida State will be the No. 8 seed on Wednesday while Louisville occupies the No. 9 seed. As the higher seed, the Seminoles are just 2-3 in said contests.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson