Florida State closed its regular season with a rematch against SMU, this time in the Tucker Center. There was a lot on the line for both teams. FSU could secure at least a first-round bye for the ACC Tournament, and maybe even as high as the 7th seed, depending on other results around the league. Meanwhile, SMU entered this team squarely on the bubble, sitting in Joe Lunardi’s last four teams in.
It was an ugly start for both teams. By the under-eight timeout, it was tied 18-18, with FSU shooting 6/20 and SMU shooting a nearly as bad 8/26. FSU’s defense was rocking, really limiting any good looks from SMU. Even when the Mustangs got an offensive rebound, FSU just wouldn’t let them get easy second-chance points.
The offense finally caught on after that, closing the half going 10/12 while going on a 27-9 sprint to the end of the half. Chauncey Wiggins hit four three-pointers in the first half, and Robert McCray was spraying the ball around with 9 assists. They were forcing turnovers or taking missed shots to get out in transition, and FSU’s offense was humming.
At halftime, Florida State found itself in a similar position as last game against Pitt, with a large halftime lead, this time being up by 16. They would need to come out with more energy in this game, though.
The threes that weren’t falling for SMU in the first half were falling in the second, as Boopie Miller really started feeling it. In the first eight minutes of the second half, he had 20 points on 6 made threes. So, despite FSU building a lead as large as 22, Miller helped cut the lead to 11 by the under-12 timeout, which was starting to feel all too familiar. Miller only had 4 points in the first half, but he wasn’t going to let his team go quietly into the night, even with BJ Edwards being out.
But Robert McCray V wouldn’t let SMU get much closer, at least, not initially. He hit back-to-back threes to push the lead right back to 17 with about 10 minutes to go. He then found Chauncey Wiggins slipping a screen to get him to the free-throw line. He’d split the pair, with FSU going up by 18.
From that point, FSU was able to keep SMU at arm’s length. Chauncey Wiggins continued his strong senior night, going strong to the rim for his 25th point with about 7:45 to go, which was a career-high for him. FSU would coast to the finish from there, going on to win, 91-78.
Up next is the ACC Tournament for Florida State, as FSU finishes with a 10-8 ACC record, a really impressive feat for Loucks’ first season as a head coach, especially given how ACC play started. This also could’ve just burst SMU’s bubble, as they’ve now lost four straight games. FSU will be the 8th seed in the ACC Tournament, likely to play Cal, in the 8/9 matchup, with the winner needing to play Duke.
Here are three takeaways from this big win for Florida State.