Florida State Bounces Back Against Lipscomb: 3 Game-Changing Plays

The 'Noles take care of business on Wednesday night.

This was a much, much needed game for the Seminoles. Lipscomb may not be a good team, but this team needed to see some shots got through the net, and they saw quite a few go in. It was fairly ugly for the first 10 minutes, but they bounced back in a big way over the final 10 minutes of the second half to take a 44-28 lead going into half. 

The second half was just good, solid coasting. Players were making their shots, the defensive intensity was high, and they were able to move the ball well against the zone when Lipscomb went into it. It was what you wanted to see as FSU heads into a contest with a good UCF team on Saturday. 

I didn't expect FSU to almost double up Lipscomb in scoring, but you'll always take 97-60 wins all day, every day. 

Before we get to the plays, some box score notes. 

Box Score Notes

Those 3-pointers... whew. 14/26 was not a performance from deep I expected coming in, but it was needed. They still need to work on free throws, but it's a good sign. The 23-0 points off of turnovers is an insane disparity. And 9 of FSU's 10 steals came in the first half. FSU averaged 1.276 points per possession, which is their highest since then Penn game. I'd love to see them be above 1.1 PPP against UCF on Saturday, but we'll see. 

Anthony Polite desperately needed this game. He had made just 2 of his last 12 3s heading into this game, and wasn't really as confident as you'd expect him to be. He came out tonight and attacked the basket early, made some FTs, and finally started knocking down some 3s. He finished with a career high 25 points on a really impressive 10/14 shooting and 2/3 from 3, while also chipping in 5 assists and 4 steals. Much needed game. 

Malik Osborne was phenomenal in the first half especially, but finished with his usual steadiness of 12 points and 5 rebounds. His energy set the tone throughout the game. 

Wyatt Wilkes entered the game having missed 12 straight 3s. He came out tonight and hit 3 from distance. He took too many shots for my liking, I just don't think he's a guy that needs to be taking 13 shots, but at least he finished with 13 points. 

It was a big bounce back game from Cam'Ron Fletcher who hasn't played much because of a facial injury, but he got some minutes and finished with 12 points. John Butler also had a solid game with 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks. 

This would've been a 50 point win if Jacob Ognacevic didn't score 20 points. He was the only one that could get anything consistently going, and made FSU pay from deep, going 5/6 from distance. 

Play 1

Scenario: FSU Gains the Lead... and Doesn't Look Back

This play was so big for Polite. He's been struggling from 3 to start the season, but he got off to a good start in this game by getting to the basket, hitting some free throws, and snagging some steals. But this 3 helped his confidence, you could tell. He ended the game 10/14 from the floor. 

Play 2

Scenario: GIMME THAT SH

Malik Osborne will ALWAYS bring the energy. Shoutout the volume. Florida State needs these kinds of plays, it gets them going. 

Play 3

Scenario: Mills Alley-Oop... the First One

Caleb finds Anthony for the alley oop 🤝

📺 @accnetwork

𝗙𝗦𝗨 74 𝗟𝗨 40 | 2H 10:05 pic.twitter.com/4ByofYlOb9

— Florida State Men’s Basketball (@FSUHoops) December 16, 2021

And speaking of plays FSU needs and feasts off of... FSU lives off of lobs and we hadn't seen it much recently. This is a great pass from Mills, and a great finish from Polite. Mills had another great lob later in the game. This is the type of Florida State team you're used to seeing. 

Florida State will look to avenge last year's loss to UCF on Saturday in the annual Orange Bowl Classic at 330pm.