FSU Basketball Controls Georgia Tech Wire-to-Wire, Wins 91-78

The Seminoles won their third consecutive ACC home game by double-digits as they never trailed.
Jan 18, 2025; Tallahassee, Florida, USA;  Florida State Seminoles forward Malique Ewin (12) drives the ball past Georgia Tech Yellowjackets forward Baye Ndongo (11) during the first half at Donald L. Tucker Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Myers-Imagn Images
Jan 18, 2025; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles forward Malique Ewin (12) drives the ball past Georgia Tech Yellowjackets forward Baye Ndongo (11) during the first half at Donald L. Tucker Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Myers-Imagn Images / Robert Myers-Imagn Images

Florida State hosted Georgia Tech early on Saturday afternoon, looking to win consecutive ACC games after beating Pitt on Wednesday. Georgia Tech has been dealing with injuries, and that continued with this game. They'd get Lance Terry back from a one-game absence, but Jaeden Mustaf joined Kowacie Reeves and Luke O'Brien on the bench with foot/ankle injuries.

FSU's advantage in depth was apparent from the jump, as they got out to an early 15-4 lead, using pace and chaos to create their lead. The Seminoles led by double digits for the majority of the first half as everyone was getting involved and Jamir Watkins was shooting well from deep.

Duncan Powell came off the bench for the Yellow Jackets to give them 11 points in the first half, which made the halftime score of 37-24 look somewhat respectable, but FSU's defense was setting the tone from the beginning. By halftime, Georgia Tech had as many made shots as they did turnovers with seven.

But it was a strong 10-0 start to the second half that got Georgia Tech back in the game. Florida State wasn't getting to the free-throw line much, but they also weren't turning it over. So even as the Yellow Jackets chipped the lead down to three, FSU was able to pull back away and go up by 10 midway through the half, thanks to some threes by Taylor Bol Bowen.

Georgia Tech refused to go away, though. After shooting just 2/14 from three-point range in the first half, they were 3/6 from deep early in the second half, doing a great job of driving in to collapse the defense and kicking out to open shooters.

FSU could stabilize things briefly, despite Chandler Jackson leaving the game with an apparent upper leg injury, going back up by 10 at the under-eight media timeout. But again, GT would not go away. Taylor Bol Bowen was fouled on a three-point attempt but went just 1/3 from the line, and Lance Terry responded with a three to cut the lead to four with a little more than five minutes to play. It was starting to look like a questionable performance, but FSU had a lucky stretch with about four minutes to play.

The Seminoles had extended the lead to nine, getting a pop shot from Malique Ewin and a transition and-one by Daquan Davis, before Georgia Tech had one possession where they went 0/4 from the free-throw line following a horrendous blocking foul call. As Rasheed Wallace would say, "Ball don't lie."

From there, FSU would go on to win 91-78, with Taylor Bol Bowen leading the way with 20 points, followed closely by Jamir Watkins (17 points) and Malique Ewin (17 points, 11 rebounds, four assists). I also want to give some love to Justin Thomas because while he didn't score, he had eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals, doing all the little things necessary to win an ACC game.

Georgia Tech had three players score 20+ points: Lance Terry (23), Javian McCollum (20), and Duncan Powell (20). Powell shot as many free throws (12) as Florida State made, something that doesn't happen often. If the Jackets had more depth, they might have been able to make this a game.

FSU improves to 13-5 overall and 4-3 in ACC play. They have a two-game trip to the West Coast coming up, starting on Wednesday against California.

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1. Taylor Bol Bowen's Three-Point Shooting

Bowen has been lights out from three since the calendar turned to the new year. He's 10/21 from deep against ACC teams this season, showing that it's not just on a couple of attempts where he's left wide open, he's taking a decent amount and making them. Some of them are tough shots too, but he's really confident in his transition trail three, and it's sinking.

2. Not Taking More Advantage of GT's Depth Issues

Georgia Tech only played six players in this game, and one of them (Baye Ndongo) fouled out in 26 minutes. Florida State could've done a better job at playing with pace to wear them out, and yet the Seminoles still scored 91 points at 1.331 points per possession against a solid defense. But they could've been better on defense, especially in the second half. Georgia Tech shot 19/33 from the floor, 7/15 from three, and only had five turnovers in the final 20 minutes, something FSU will want to clean up moving forward.

3. Chandler Jackson's Injury

Hopefully, Chandler Jackson's injury isn't serious. While his overall production won't blow anyone away, his steadiness against a zone makes a huge difference. There were multiple occasions when the play broke down, and he was able to bully his way to the paint and hit a little pop shot. They can't afford for him to miss significant time.


READ MORE: FSU Basketball Picks Up Signature Home Win, Beats Pitt 82-70

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Austin Veazey
AUSTIN VEAZEY

Lead basketball writer; Former FSU Men's Basketball Manager from 2016-2019