On My Mind Monday: How Many Top-10 Road Wins Does FSU Have Under Leonard Hamilton?

Florida State made a major statement on Saturday as the Seminoles went into the KFC Yum! Center and dominated No. 7 Louisville, 78-65. As a result, FSU moved into the top 10 this week in both traditional polls.

Saturday’s statement victory led one to wonder how common beating top-10 teams on the road has become for FSU. Below are the all the wins over AP top-10 teams under head coach Leonard Hamilton:

FSU 68, (8) Duke 67
Feb. 4, 2007
Before the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears kicked off Super Bowl XLI, Florida State made sure it was a Super Sunday in Tallahassee by rallying from 17 points down to beat No. 8 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first time ever. FSU led 68-62 with about three minutes to play before Duke answered with five straight points, but neither team scored over the final two and a half minutes. Greg Paulus, Josh McRoberts and DeMarcus Nelson all missed short shots in the final eight seconds that would have won the game for the Blue Devils. Al Thornton finished with 21 points and eight rebounds to lead FSU. Paulus scored a career-high 23 points for the Blue Devils in the loss.

FSU 65, (10) Clemson 61
Feb. 7, 2009
Florida State trailed by as many as 19 points in the second half at Littlejohn Coliseum, but finished the game on a 23-4 run to stun No. 10 Clemson on the first Saturday in February 2009. Center Solomon Alabi had the basket that put the Seminoles ahead for good with about two minutes to play. Toney Douglas helped ice the game with five free throw makes in the final 43 seconds. Clemson went without a field goal for the game’s final 4:20. Douglas led FSU with 23 points while Alabi added 17 points, nine rebounds and five blocks.

FSU 76, (4) Duke 73
Jan. 21, 2012
Despite leading by eight midway through the second half, Duke’s 45-game home winning streak would die in January 2012, courtesy of a buzzer beater from FSU guard Michael Snaer. The Seminoles had stormed back to take a 73-71 lead with time ticking away before Duke’s Austin Rivers evened the game on a drive to the rim with less than five seconds to play. Guard Luke Loucks pushed the ball for the Seminoles before finding Snaer open for 3 in the corner. Loucks delivered a perfect pass and Snaer knocked down the game-winner at the buzzer to jumpstart what would be a then record 7-game ACC winning streak. Snaer finished with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Xavier Gibson paced the Seminoles with 16 points while Rivers led Duke with a game-high 19 points.

FSU 83, (5) Florida 66
Dec. 4, 2017
Florida State held Florida to 36 percent shooting and forced 17 turnovers in an unlikely rout of rival Florida early during the 2017-18 season. FSU led by seven at halftime, but Florida got as close as four in the second half. That’s when the Seminoles used an 8-0 run to make it a double-digit lead and from there, the contest was never closer than 10. FSU finished with 51 rebounds to 34 for the Gators. Terance Mann led FSU with a game-high 25 points on 11-for-17 shooting. Phil Cofer finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds in the win. Florida’s Jalen Hudson led his team with 16 points.

FSU 63, (6) Florida 51
Nov. 10, 2019
Florida State’s first win of this season came in a road upset of No. 6 Florida as the Seminoles claimed their sixth straight win over their arch-rivals. The Gators were held to just 28 percent shooting and turned the ball over 16 times in the defeat. With the score tied at 21, FSU used a 10-0 run that started late in the first half and spilled over into the second to seize control of the contest. After the Gators closed to within six, FSU answered with a 9-2 run. Devin Vassell led FSU with 13 points. Keyontae Johnson led Florida with a game-high 19 points.

(18) FSU 78, (7) Louisville 65
Jan. 4, 2020
Florida State closed the first half on a 12-2 run on Saturday and never looked back as it won back-to-back games at Louisville for the first time ever. The Seminoles shot 55 percent from the field and 11-for-23 from deep in the contest. Louisville trailed 39-32 at halftime and got as close as three in the second half before a 20-8 run for the Seminoles put the game away. M.J. Walker came off the bench to lead FSU with 23 points. Trent Forrest added 20 points on 9 of 11 shooting to go with five assists and two steals. Louisville’s Jordan Nwora finished with game-highs of 32 points and 10 rebounds.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.