FSU Basketball breaks losing streak, beats Notre Dame 67-60

Tuesday night between Florida State and Notre Dame was the first game since Leonard Hamilton and Florida State announced he'd be resigning at the end of the season. How FSU would respond to that was the biggest thing to watch, especially after Saturday's embarrassing collapse to Boston College.

It wasn't pretty early. as FSU was starting at an early 17-7 deficit, with Notre Dame hitting a few early threes. But the Seminoles responded after that, going on a ridiculous 18-0 run to take control of the game.

Jamir Watkins was handling the scoring, but freshmen AJ Swinton and Christian Nitu were giving the team quality minutes on both ends of the floor as they opened up a 29-19 lead with 3:27 to go in the first half. But Notre Dame could only be silent for so long, going on a 9-0 run to close the half with some bad basketball by Florida State. But they still had a lead going into the break with chances to build on it.

Feb 4, 2025; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Leonard Hamilton watches his team on defense during the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Donald L. Tucker Center. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images | Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Jamir Watkins started the second half with a personal 9-0 run behind a few made threes as FSU opened up a multi-possession lead again, but Notre Dame responded with another 9-0 run to tie the game again. From there, the game became a grind.

Possessions were already slow in this game, and they only got slower as the second half progressed. FSU was at least leading for most of this time, with the lead bouncing between two and five points as the game ticked under four minutes to go.

It was sloppy basketball for Florida State, even when they had the lead. Weird turnovers, often giving up rebounds on free throws and leaving shooters open occasionally.

Notre Dame chipped the lead down to one with three minutes to go before Daquan Davis gave the 'Noles a three-point with 2:30 to go. Malique Ewin would extend that lead to five with 48.7 seconds to go, then converted an and-one to make it six. Ewin again had a strong second half, helping the Seminoles never surrender the lead except for an 18-second hiatus in the middle.

Notre Dame smoked a layup on the ensuing possession, Ewin hit two free throws to push the lead to eight, but they'd foul Markus Burton driving to the basket with 32.3 to go, giving flashbacks to the weekend against Boston College. Then, they didn't collect a rebound on the free throw and goaltended a basket to bring Notre Dame back within five. But the goaltending was waived off, Florida State got a leak-out dunk, and they'd go on to win 67-60.

Jamir Watkins led the Seminoles with 21 points and eight rebounds, shooting 8/15 from the floor. He was closely followed by Malique Ewin with 18 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, and three steals. AJ Swinton was the next highest-scoring Seminole with nine.

Markus Burton led all scorers with 25 points, but Notre Dame only had six players score in this game, one of them scoring just one point. Tae Davis, with 14 points, was the only other member of the Irish in double-figures.

Florida State has a week off before playing at Wake Forest on the 12th.

Stick with NoleGameday for more FREE coverage of Florida State Basketball throughout the 2024-25 season.

Follow NoleGameday on and Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok

More Florida State News

• Florida State offers three quarterbacks after losing top #Tribe26 commitment

• Florida State lands standout local running back Amari Clemons

• Four former Florida State stars advance to Super Bowl LIX

• Obscene message in Doak Campbell Stadium proves even snow can't stop FSU-UF rivalry