No 6. Florida State drops heartbreaker to Clemson
FSU broke with its custom and started the game by hitting 10 of 11, 91%. The Seminoles did cool off and shot "only" 61% for the half, but they missed their last 6 shots of the half to get there. The only two real concerns with the FSU game were turnovers and Clemson repeatedly beating defenders off the dribble. And that was enough to get the Tigers a 70-69 win.
The second half started out as a reversal of the first, with FSU hitting 1 of its first 10 shots from the floor and allowing Clemson to eventually take a 2-point lead. FSU would retake the lead and be up 5 late in the game, but the 'Noles missed a couple of key shots and allowed Clemson some easy baskets to lead by 1 with under a minute to play. Credit FSU for not folding as it played some of its best defense of the game for the next 50 seconds, Clemson missed 2 free throws, and Forrest would score twice, the second giving FSU the lead with 8 seconds left. But as had been a problem much of the game, FSU's transition defense just wasn't able to stop the easy 2, and Clemson come away with a layup for the win.
The game ended leaving several secondary stories in its wake. With the loss, FSU drops into a tie for the conference lead with 2 games remaining, and its destiny is no longer in their hands. If Duke wins out, it will claim the regular season title via tie-breaker even if FSU wins its final 2 games. And of course, will the conference ever hire and train professional referees?
What went right:
The first half. Despite a couple of small bumps, the offense played perhaps its best first half of the year, and the defense held Clemson to 32 points. The 7-point halftime lead was only 2 off the Seminoles' biggest lead (9) of the half.
Composure. Not a lot went FSU's way in the second half, but the team maintained its composure and put itself in a position to win. A lot of endings to this game could have seen Florida State come home with the win.
Set defense. When the Seminoles were able to get into its half-court defense they played pretty well. Clemson had some success breaking it down in the first half, but it played much better in the second half and kept FSU in this game.
Bench and Rebounding. FSU gathered 2 more rebounds on the day than did Clemson, and its subs outscored the Clemson subs 25-18. Neither stat is overwhelming, but they are positives.
What didn't:
Looking at the things that went wrong, it's clear that FSU was positioned to win this game. A key stop, rebound, block, steal, free throw, or most anything else may have been enough to pull this out. But they didn't get that key item. Play anywhere close to the statistical norm, and FSU wins easily.
The second half. Florida State started the second half like it has started most games this year: slowly and looking out of sorts. The 'Noles made their first shot of the second half then missed 9 straight. It was 8 minutes into the second half before the Seminoles' next field goal. Only good defense during this stretch kept the home team from leading by more than 1.
Live ball turnovers. FSU only turned the ball over 4 more times than Clemson, but FSU's were mostly the live-ball type. Turnovers resulted in 23 Clemson points to 8 for FSU. This more than anything else must be cleaned up for the 'Noles to make a deep tournament run.
Transition defense: FSU was beaten repeatedly for easy baskets on Clemson in-bounds plays. The defender seemed to think that there was help behind him and let the ball handler beat him to the basket. This hasn't been a problem all season and is probably the second biggest issue on the day.
Free Throws. Shooting 61% from the stripe will cost you a lot of games and was certainly a contributor today. The team was 11 of 18. Make the season's average and FSU wins. Free throw defense was a surprise issue late as Aamir Simms beat RaiQuan Gray for the offensive rebound and a chance for Clemson to put the game away.
Once again an ACC basketball game was impacted too much by the officiating. To most fans the ending was horrible, but the refs handled that inadvertent whistle about as well as can be expected. Without a clear reason to award the ball to either team they went to the possession arrow, and FSU had a chance to steal this game. FSU's 7-point halftime lead is considerably larger but for a couple of really bad charging calls. Leading by 12 or 15 at the half could have made the entire second half moot.
Next up: On the road to Notre Dame for a weekday game and hope for a Duke loss tonight.
