Showing posts with label Florida St. Seminoles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Florida St. Seminoles. Show all posts

Friday, March 09, 2012

Conference tournaments UPDATE: late, late games, 3/9/12

Big 12: Baylor 81 Kansas 72 - #12 Baylor upset #3 Kansas to advance to the Big 12 final on Saturday to face the winner of Texas-Missouri. The Bears ut six players in double figures, throwing the Midwest and West NCAA #1 bids up for grabs.

Big Ten: Ohio State 88 Purdue 71 - #7 Ohio State had few problems eliminating Purdue from the Big Ten tourney. Jared Sullinger's 30 points and 12 rebounds led five Buckeyes in double figures. Ohio State faces Michigan in a semi-final match-up Saturday.

Big East: Louisville 64 Notre Dame 50 - Peyton Siva continued to shine for the Cardinals, scoring 13 points with 9 assists and 8 rebounds, leading Louisville to the Big East final Saturday night against Cincinnati.

ACC: Florida State 82 Miami 71 - Florida State led the entire game, ousting Miami from the ACC tourney and setting up a semi-final showdown Saturday with #6 Duke.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Deividas Dulkys Buries 8 3-Pointers as Florida State Hammers #3 North Carolina, 90-57

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, January 14, 2012

The ACC is normally a tough conference, but what happened to #3 North Carolina Saturday afternoon in Tallahassee was downright scary.

Deividas Dulkys pumped in a career high 32 points and the Tar Heels shot just 37% as the Florida State Seminoles absolutely trashed North Carolina, 90-57.

Dulkys, a senior guard from Lithuania averaging just seven points a game, was firing bullets from 3-point range, hitting 8 of 10 from outside the arc and 10 of 14 overall as the Seminoles took command right from the opening tip and expanded on a 36-28 lead at the half to turn the game into a rout.

There seemed to be little the Tar Heels could do right, turning the ball over 22 times while being dominated by the spirited Seminoles, who also won the battle of the boards, 43-35. Tyler Zeller scored 14 points and had 14 rebounds, but otherwise, North Carolia was outplayed. Florida State's Okaro White scored 12 points with 10 rebounds, in just his second double-double of the season.

Improving to 11-6 overall, the Seminoles tied North Carolina, NC State and Boston College for second place in the ACC, at 2-1, all chasing Duke, with their 2-0 conference record. North Carolina lost for just the third time this season against 15 wins, all of their defeats coming on the road. Their other two losses were to UNLV and Kentucky.

NOTABLE: All three of the remaining unbeaten teams took to the courts on Saturday, and each of them came away unscathed. #1 Syracuse exploded in the latter stages of the first half to lead Providence 38-21 at the break and eventually turn in their 19th straight win with a 78-55 victory, tying the school record for best start to a basketball season.

#4 Baylor had their highest scoring total of the season, blasting Oklahoma State, 106-65, behind 19 points and 12 rebounds from Perry Jones III. Next up for the Bears is a big test at Kansas, Monday, January 16.

Murray State, ranked 15th, dispatched Tennessee Tech, 82-64, for their 18th straight win. The Racers lead the Ohio Valley conference at 6-0.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Round of 32 Results and Recaps - Sunday Games

East

North Carolina 86 Washington 83 - Proving once again that size matters, Washington cold not contain the Tar Heel big men - Tyler Zeller (23 points) and John Henson (10 points, 10 boards) - but little Isaiah Thomas and the Huskies took them to the limit.

Ohio State 98 George Mason 66 - the Buckeyes continued to decimate anything in their way, as they smothered the Patriots. David Lighty was 9-for-10 from the field for a game-high 25 points.

Marquette 66 Syracuse 62 - the Golden Eagles soared once again, doing to Syracuse what they did to them during the Big East regular season. The lead changed hands frequently, but Marquette made the plays down the stretch. An 11 seed, Marquette is a surprise from the Big East, which has now seen more than half of their 11 teams gone in the first weekend.

Southwest

VCU 94 Purdue 76 - VCU took a ten-point lead into half time and extended it through the second half, dominating all aspects of the game and distributing 24 assists as a team. Bradford Burgess had 23 points and 8 rebounds for the Rams and 5'10" Joey Rodriguez distributed 11 assists to go with his 10 points.

Kansas 73 Illinois 59 - The Jayhawks had little trouble beating coach Bill Self's former school, getting 24 points and 12 rebounds from Markieff Morris and 17 and 12 from twin brother Marcus.

West

Duke 73 Michigan 71 - Duke survived a serious scare from the Wolverines when Darius Morris missed a runner in the lane with two seconds left after erasing most of a 15-point Duke second half lead. Nolan Smith led all scorers with 24 points, and Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski notched his 900th career win.

Arizona 70 Texas 69 - Texas trailed nearly the entire game, but had two close-in chances to win the game as time ran down. Arizona continued the Longhorns' frustrations in the NCAA tournament by ousting them in an early round again.

Florida State 71 Notre Dame 57 - The Seminoles stunned Notre Dame, smothering them with the nation's best defense and advancing to face VCU in the Sweet 16. Florida State held the usually high-scoring Fighting Irish to just 32% shooting. Bernard James had 14 points and 10 boards for the Seminoles.

Notre Dame was the 9th of 11 teams from the Big East to lose on the opening weekend, leaving just Marquette and UConn from the conference, widely considered to be the best in the nation. Not any more.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Seminoles' Kitchen Throws in Sink; Blue Devils Stopped

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The widely-held belief that Duke could roll through their ACC schedule without a loss evaporated under the bright lights of Tallahassee's Donald L. Tucker Center, where the Florida State Seminoles proved to be more than the Blue Devils could handle, again.

Florida State is not unused to knocking off highly-ranked, unbeaten Duke squads. In fact, they do it with amazing regularity. The Seminoles knocked off top-ranked Duke squads in 2002 and 2006, both times on the Seminoles own hardwood. Wednesday night's 66-61 upset was the charmed third time in a decade.

On a night in which the Blue Devils couldn't score inside, they shot horribly from outside as well, making just 11 of 35 three-point attempts and shooting 31% overall. Florida State nailed 6 of 13 treys and shot 44% from the field, with senior guard Derwin Kitchen providing much of the offense at critical junctures. He led all scorers with 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting which included 3 triples. The 6'4" shooter hauled in 10 rebounds, dished 3 assists and made 3 steals for good measure.

The Seminoles improved to 12-5 after losing three of their last four games. The loss was the first for Duke since March of 2010, when they lost a conference game to Maryland. Their 25-game winning streak was the second longest in school history.

NOTABLE: A number of ranked teams appear to be headed for unranked status as conference play separates the men from the boys. #22 Georgetown was easily handled by visiting Big East rival Pitt (6), 72-57. The 14-5 Hoyas are a pure flash in the pan, having now lost three straight and four of five in Big East play.

Likewise, #18 Louisville looks overmatched in the Big East, the most competitive conference in the country, losing 88-74 at #7 Villanova. Though the Cardinals are 13-3, their losses have come recently and their 2-1 record in Big East play includes wins over confernence doormats, Seton Hall and South Florida.

#21 Kansas State looks to be leaving the Top 25 ranks after a 74-66 home loss to Colorado. Along with them should go #24 Georgia, road losers at Vanderbilt, 73-66. The Wildcats are 0-2 in the Big 12; 13-3 Georgia defeated Kentucky on Saturday, but are now 1-1 in the SEC. Earlier losses to Temple and Notre Dame are telling.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Singleton's Triple Double Lifts Florida State

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, November 14, 2010

For Florida State, playing basketball in the ACC is a mixed blessing. Sure, they get some big crowds when North Carolina or Duke head down for a visit, but the results are generally not great. The Seminoles generally get lost in the shuffle of the top teams from Tobacco Road.

Still, things are looking up for Florida State. After going 25-10 in 2008-09, they went 22-10 in 2009-10, though both years they lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Duke continues to beat up on them, but the 'Noles have taken two of the last three from the Tar Heels.

This season shapes up as more of the same, maybe even better, especially if junior forward Chris Singleton continues his progression. He's been logging more minutes, scoring more points and getting busier on the boards as he matures. On Sunday, in Florida State's easy 97-73 victory at North Carolina Greensboro, Singleton produced a rare triple double, scoring 22 points to go with 11 boards and 10 steals. He also blocked four shots and distributed the ball for six assists.

The Seminoles were never really challenged, outscoring the Spartans 46-29 in the first half and throwing down 51 in the second stanza on 51.5% shooting from the floor. Improving to 2-0, Florida State has a few more "easy" ones before things get serious when Florida and Ohio State visit on November 28 and 30. Those two games should provide a better indication of what lies ahead.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

ACC: Duke Advances; FSU Upsets Tar Heels

The Madness that is March continued without interruption in the ACC, as Florida State upset #1 North Carolina, 73-70, in one semifinal contest Saturday afternoon. In the other half of the draw, Duke beat Maryland, 67-61.

In the Florida state win, North Carolina had a 9-point lead in the first half, but could not sustain it, as the teams exchanged leads throughout the game. though FSU held the advantage through much of the second half, but led by no more than 5 points at any time. Carolina's Danny Green tied the game on a pair of free throws at 69-69 with 2:03 left and Bobby Frasor gave the Tar Heels a 1-point lead a minute later, but FSU's Toney Douglas and Derwin Kitchen each made a pair of free throws and North Carolina was unable to score again. The Seminoles advance to the finals against Duke on Sunday.

Duke's win over a desperate Maryland squad was close until about halfway through the second half, when Duke went on a 12-2 run, stretching their lead to 56-43 with just over 5 minutes left to play. The Terrapins cut the lead to 4 points, but by then there were only 18 seconds left and Duke secured the win.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

BC Drops Seminoles; LSU Takes Out Gators for 9th Straight

Boston College 72, #23 Florida State 67

The schizophrenic BC Eagles were at their multi-faceted best Tuesday night, scoring 24 points in the first half before exploding for 48 in the second, downing Florida State in the process and keeping alive hope for a ticket to the NCAA tournament.

The Eagles were led by Vermont transfer, Joe Trapani, who tallied 19 points and had 6 rebounds. Florida State's Toney Douglass equaled that output, hitting five 3-pointers and going 4-4 from the foul line.

BC improved to 8-6 in the ACC and 20-9 overall, while the Seminoles fell to 8-5 and 21-7


#18 LSU 81, Florida 75

LSU's Marcus Thornton scored 32 points to lead the Tigers to their 9th straight win, clinching the SEC West title with a signature win over Florida, one of the leaders in the SEC East. It was the sixth time this season that Thornton had scored 30 or more points in a game.

LSU is virtually assured of a solid seeding in the NCAA tourney, though the rest of the conference isn't performing at a very high level.

The 8-5 Gators dropped a half game behind South Carolina and Kentucky - both at 8-4 - in their division. LSU is 12-1 and 24-4.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Thornton leads Seminoles over #8 Duke

Florida State 68 Duke 67 - Forward Al Thornton is making the most of his senior year at Florida State. He's scored in double figures in all 23 games this season, scored 20 or more 12 times, and has 3 double-doubles. But yesterday was possibly his best as his 21 points, 8 rebounds and floor leadership helped the Seminoles upset #8 Duke at Cameron Arena. Florida State had lost their 15 previous trips to Duke, but this time Thornton and his teammates were determined not to leave without a win.

Greg Paulus scored 23 for Duke, but Florida State held the Blue Devils scoreless in the final minute to seal the 1-point victory. Afterwards, Seminole players danced and celebrated on Duke's home court.

With the win, Florida State improved to 16-7 on the season and into a tie with Duke for 5th place in the topsy-turvy ACC at 5-4. The road victory virtually ensured that the Seminoles would receive an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, though they must still play well down the stretch and in the ACC tourney. The Seminoles advanced to 3-4 against ranked teams, the two other wins coming against Florida and Virginia Tech.

Just one game involves Top 25 teams tonight, but it's a good one. #22 Texas invades #10 Texas A&M at 9:00 EST. By the time these two tip, their rankings will almost certainly have changed. On Saturday, Texas lost at home to Kansas State, while the Aggies won at #6 Kansas.

One other game of note is in the Big East. Syracuse plays at UConn. Both teams are perennial tournament fixtures, but have fallen on lean times this season, especially the Huskies, who are 3-6 in the conference and 14-8 overall. Syracuse is 5-4 in the Big East and 16-7 overall. A win tonight by Boeheim's boys could send Calhoun's kids home early this season.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Bottom Fallout: Five Losers

At the bottom of the Top 25, Wednesday was a disaster. Five teams lost in conference, but the biggest flop was in Nashville.

Vanderbilt 94 Alabama 73 - Junior Forward Shan Foster led the way with 27 points, including 5 3-pointers, as Vandy put a real hurt on #10 Crimson Tide. The 12-6 (2-2 SEC) Commodores are a real enigma, with wins over 'Bama, Tennessee and Georgia Tech, but losses to no-names such as Appalachian State and Furman. They do know how to dish, however, as they produced 27 assists in the win last night and have six players on the roster averaging more than 2 assists per game. Yes, they can dish the rock, but can they finish the dance? Vandy better be dandy for the rest of January with road games at Kentucky, LSU and Florida scheduled.

Auburn 83 Tennessee 80 - The Vols let this one slip away. Leading by 14 points with 10 minutes left, they allowed Auburn to chip away and win it on the foul line in the closing seconds. #22 Tennessee is now 1-2 in conference and their chances of staying ranked - after losing to Ohio State and now here on the road - are slim. Look for a Big East team (Syracuse) to take their spot on Monday.

Villanova 102 Notre Dame 87 - The 20th-ranked Irish fell behind early and could never get any closer than 7, as the Wildcats just kept hitting from everywhere. Villanova shot 57% and the two teams combined for 25 3-pointers (15 by Notre Dame). Scottie Reynolds topped the scoring chart with 27, going 8-12 from the floor. Villanova also outrebounded the Irish, 40-26. The loss dropped Notre Dame to 3-2 in the Big East with both losses coming on the road. No defense, no rebounding... sounds like a quick exit is in store for Notre Dame if they keep playing that brand of hoops.

North Carolina 77 Clemson 55 - This wasn't really a surprise as the #4 Tar Heels rebounded off their loss at Virginia Tech on Saturday. Carolina solved their shooting woes, hitting 31-60 from the floor while cutting down on 3-point attempts. They shot 8 and made 3. The Tar Heels have to cut down on the turnovers, however. Despite their 17 assists, the 22 turnovers don't look good. Still, an ACC road win is big. Watch the name Trevor Booker. Clemson's 6'7" frosh swatted 8 shots.

Florida State 82 Virginia Tech 73 - OK, the ACC is upside-down. After beating Duke and North Carolina in succession, the Hokies went South for their first conference loss. How do you shoot 56% and lose? Send the opposition to the foul line 34 times. That's what happened, and the Seminoles only missed 3 times on their home hardwood. The Hokies had their chances, but hit only 17-26 charity tosses. Plus, actually guarding senior Al Thornton or soph Toney Douglas might have helped. The duo scored 27 and 22, respectively and together accounted for 19 of Florida State's 31 made free throws.

The Seminoles are a team to watch, though. They now have a win in the ACC (1-3), but this is the team that beat Florida 70-66 in December, but also has losses to Pitt, Wisconsin, Clemson, North Carolina and Georgia Tech - some quality teams, and all but the Clemson loss were on the road. These guys could put a run together, do some damage in the ACC tournament and conceivably make life miserable for a few foes in the big dance. Keep an eye out for them.

Winners on Wednesday: #2 Wisconsin, 69-64 over Purdue; #7 Ohio State, 73-41 over Northwestern; #16 LSU, 62-55 over Mississippi; #18 Butler, 67-39 over Youngstown State. All Top 25 wins were on home courts except #4 North Carolina's win at Clemson.

Thursday action will be late, as most games are out on the coast. Arizona, UCLA, Oregon and Nevada play. #14 Duke is home for Wake Forest.