Brandon’s Career-High 23 Lead FSU Basketball Over UCF

The FSU Basketball team got back in the win column this afternoon, besting the University of Central Florida Knights 96-73. After displayed an utter ineptitude from long range early in the season, the ‘Noles pounded the ball inside, and the result was the team’s best offensive performance of the young season.

The Seminoles really didn’t even look at the rim from afar in the early going. And it worked wonderfully. The ‘Noles got their first two buckets on Kiel Turpin hook shots down low, and continued to work the ball inside throughout the first half. In fact, FSU only attempted one three-point shot in the first stanza, which it missed.

The FSU field goal percentage  — and lead — rose throughout the first half, and the Seminoles went into the break up 47-37. At the four media timeouts in the first half, the ‘Nole shooting efficiency, in order, was 66%, 69%, 72%, and 77%. Florida State finished at 62%, primarily because the long ball came out again in the second half. The Seminoles finished 3-12 on threes, whereas they collected 64 points in the paint, double UCF’s 32.

UCF head coach Donnie Jones summed it up best after the game: “Their length and their depth just kind of wore us down.”

Montay’s Career Day

One of the main reasons the Seminoles enjoyed so much interior success was junior guard Montay Brandon. Brandon scored 23, a new career high, but this may have been his best game as a ‘Nole not because of how many points he scored, but due to how he scored them. Instead of settling for outside jumpers, he used his athleticism to slash to the basket, so his performance was a very economical one: he went 10-12 from the field.

Brandon showed typical humility when asked about his big day: “My teammates put me in positions where I could score.” Teammate and fellow junior Aaron Thomas came to FSU with Brandon and has seen this before. he commented: “that’s the Montay I know.” Seminole fans should hope that that’s the Montay they all get to know this season.

Coach Leonard Hamilton was very pleased with Brandon’s performance as well, and spoke about it after the game: “Montay’s playing totally within himself. . . he’s matured to the point of [saying] let me see what my team needs.”

Less is More with XRM

Noticeably absent from the scoring sheet is freshman Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who leads the ‘Noles in scoring this season. Rathan-Mayes played just 21 minutes after leading FSU in minutes during Aaron Thomas’ absence. But Thomas is back, and he was back in a big way tonight, chipping in 22 points of his own in 25 minutes (he and Brandon each played 25 minutes, which led FSU).

The success of Brandon and Thomas is incredibly important for XRM. As Hamilton said after the game, “we need to win gams by committee,” an acknowledgment that this team does not play well when any one player feels he has to do it all. Hamilton nevertheless wants XRM to maintain an assertive attitude: “We want him to be a scorer; we want him to be aggressive offensively.”

XRM probably felt a bit too much of the weight earlier in the year, and it led to myriad turnovers; he’s so talented that it just feels like he forces it at times (he still led FSU with 4 turnovers). When Brandon and Thomas are doing the heavy lifting, he’s free to let the game come to him a bit more, a much more preferable option for young man still learning the college game.

Looking Ahead

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The impressive win means Florida State has still never lost to UCF, as the Seminoles hold an 11-0 edge in the all-time series. The victory also gets FSU back to the .500 mark on the season, at 4-4, and it’s difficult to overstate how important the timing of this win — and this sound inside performance — is for the ‘Noles at this point in the season: Florida State has a week off before traveling to South Bend, Indiana, to open their ACC schedule by taking on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Shortly thereafter the Seminoles will host the Florida Gators, travel to Mississippi State, and then really get into the heart of their conference slate.