RECAP: FSU Basketball Beats NC State in an Offensive Shootout
One word: speed. Both teams were desperate to get up and down the basketball court in this game; both pressing 94 feet and both doing a fairly good job of beating that press.
Florida State got the upper hand in the first half by getting good looks in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock. Early kick-ahead were leading to baskets within 8 feet of the rim and that's exactly what they want. They mainly did it by getting DJ Burns in space, the massive 6'9", 275-pound mammoth on the interior. It became pretty clear that he wasn't playable in this game, which was a good thing for FSU.
FSU had 10 fast break points and 22 points in the paint in the first half alone. They were getting the exact shots they wanted almost every time down the floor, which helped them shoot 58% from the floor on their way to a 41-33 halftime lead.
Casey Morsell would not let NC State go away though, scoring 11 points in the first four minutes of the second half. NC State's shooting in general was a big reason they stayed in the game. FSU had a lead as large as 12, but Morsell, Jayden Taylor, and DJ Horne kept hitting 3s to keep them afloat, even getting the lead down to as few as 2 with 8:30 remaining.
Primo Spears just refused to let Florida State lose though. Tonight was the best game he's played in a Florida State uniform in terms of all-around consistency. He was hitting tough shots, dishing off a few elite passes to cutters, and playing hard-nosed defense. If Spears was playing like this in the early part of the month, this is a much different team.
Even as NC State was hitting shots down the stretch to try and make it a game, Spears and Jamir Watkins were doing what was necessary on the offensive end to keep the Wolfpack at arm's length, and Florida State took home the win 90-83.
Florida State shot a blistering 59.7% from the floor in this game, including 66.7% on 2-pointers. It's the highest Those 46 points in the paint and 18 fast break points were a direct result of NC State's press and FSU's ability to break that press. Combine that with NC State's 14 turnovers for a 20.3% turnover rate, that's everything FSU really needed to win. As I talked about in the preview, NC State came into the game as one of the best teams in the nation at taking care of the ball, with this being just their third game of the season with a turnover rate north of 20%.
I already talked about Primo Spears' effectiveness tonight, as he finished with 14 points and 6 assists while shooting 5/9 from the floor. He was great in this game and FSU is going to need more of that out of him down the stretch and in the ACC Tournament.
Jamir Watkins was business as usual: 19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 8/11 from the floor. If he's not the All-ACC 1st Team at the end of the season, I may riot. When the offense has the spacing it did tonight, it makes life so easy for him on the interior.
Cameron Corhen had 11 points as a direct beneficiary of a few solid plays from Spears. Chandler Jackson came off the bench to give them an efficient 9 points and Baba Miller added 8 points and 7 rebounds. All 11 Seminoles that checked in tonight scored.
For NC State, Jayden Taylor somehow quietly had 24 points, including 4/6 from deep. Casey Morsell finished with 19 points. DJ Horne had an inefficient 15 points. Ben Middlebrooks had 12 points and 7 rebounds. And Mohamed Diarra had 13 points and 9 rebounds.
Florida State will travel to Atlanta on Saturday to play Georgia Tech at noon.
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