Florida State Seminoles defeat Miami Hurricanes 84-75 in ACC basketball
2-Minute Drill: Rolex 24 prep in Daytona, Bucs set to play Lions: NPPP
Testing for the Rolex 24 begins this weekend, leading up to the race on Jan. 27. And, the Buccaneers have a playoff game at Detroit on Sunday at 3 p.m.
CORAL GABLES — Less than three weeks ago, Florida State was a .500 team coming off a loss to Lipscomb — a game that still causes FSU coach Leonard Hamilton to admittedly have “visions.”
Now, however, the Seminoles are jockeying for position near the top of the ACC standings.
The ‘Noles won their fifth consecutive game Wednesday night, holding off Miami 84-75 at Watsco Center while sending the Hurricanes to their third loss in four games.
“We won this game by committee, by everybody contributing a little bit,” Hamilton said. “That’s who we are.”
Primo Spears and Cam Corhen scored 16 points apiece to lead four Seminoles in double figures. Unlike last season, when the ‘Noles (11-6, 5-1 ACC) rallied from 25 points down in the second half here to win, they led the entire way Wednesday, seizing a 16-point advantage early in the second half before seeing their lead whittled to two points multiple times.
“You have to give Florida State a lot of credit for coming in here and playing the way they did,” Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. “Their size just bothers us. They’re so long and athletic. … Their defense forced us totally out of our offensive rhythm.”
Nijel Pack led the Hurricanes (12-5, 3-3) with 19 points. Norchad Omier scored 15 despite battling foul trouble the entire night. Wooga Poplar also had 15. Matthew Cleveland, who hit the buzzer-beating deep 3-pointer in FSU’ 85-84 win last season, had just two points for Miami against his former teammates, making one of eight field-goal attempts.
“I’m not going to worry too much about Matthew Cleveland,” Larranaga said of his guard, who came in as the ‘Canes’ second-leading scorer at 16.4 points per game. “I’m sure he will be fine.”
Pack keyed the second-half comeback, hitting a pair of 3s during an 8-0 run that pulled the ‘Canes to the brink of getting the lead. But they never did.
“Pretty much the whole first half we were on our heels. We turned into the aggressor and that’s what changed the game for us,” Pack said. “We had a chance right there, cut it down three times. We’ve got to convert on that.”
The Seminoles have now won six consecutive matchups in Coral Gables. While last year’s meeting was Miami’s lone home loss in the 2022-23 season, the Hurricanes have now dropped two at home in the last week alone.
The Seminoles’ height advantage and depth were key Wednesday. They finished with a whopping 40-14 advantage in bench points as well as 52-34 edge in points in the paint.
“It was like a chess match,” Larranaga said of Hamilton’s team taking advantage of its strengths. “Leonard got me in checkmate.”
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Since losing to Lipscomb, the Seminoles have beaten Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest at home, as well as Notre Dame and Miami on the road. Their lone conference loss came at ACC leader North Carolina on Dec. 2 — a game FSU led by double digits in the second half.
“We’ve become more and more of a team,” Hamilton said. “We still have a lot of work to do. … But I think we’re getting closer to developing that unity.”
