FSU Falls Apart in Second Half, Loses Last Minute to Georgia Tech in ACC Opening Round

It’s over. This nightmare of a season is finally over. It just didn’t come the way many expected.

Florida State led by 10 at halftime, hit three straight 3s to open the second half to get the lead to 11. And they lost. Georgia Tech shot 12 free throws in the second half to give them a big boost, but none was bigger than the one they made in the final second to give them their first lead since it was 6-5.

Florida State led for 34 minutes in this game, it really should’ve been a win, despite Matthew Cleveland rolling his ankle in the first half (more on this in a second). There were some real positives: Cameron Corhen finished with his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, Chandler Jackson was aggressive and feisty, and Darin Green Jr through a few really nice lobs, plays that we really haven’t seen this team make this season. They shot a better percentage from the floor than Georgia Tech, smoked them on the glass 43-29, and had 32 points in the paint. And they lost. 61-60. Mainly because Georgia Tech shot 6 more free throws and had fewer turnovers.

Matthew Cleveland probably shouldn’t have come back into the game; he was hobbling, could hardly put any weight on his foot, and was shuffling his foot to not take extra steps. I commend him for giving it a go, it’s not easy playing on an ankle that badly rolled. His choice this season is going to be interesting.

We can talk more about the why’s and the how’s of this game and the season as a whole, but it’s probably just going to be best to forget this season as soon as possible and look forward to a revamped roster. This team needs one desperately.

A big off-season is ahead for Leonard Hamilton and Florida State. Can they get this team turned around for next season? Will they even have the chance to? I’m fairly certain we’re going to see some transfer portal news (players leaving) very soon, and hopefully, it’s none of the building blocks for the future.

Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State basketball throughout the offseason

Follow NoleGameday on Twitter and Facebook