FSU Basketball: Noles beat themselves against Michigan to end season
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU basketball needed a win over Michigan to make their second Final Four ever but beat themselves.
The Noles and Michigan got off to a rough and tough first half with lots of fouls and blocks.
It was a half FSU outplayed Michigan but shot themselves in the foot with tons of unforced turnovers. FSU had 14 turnovers in the first half but played relatively well other than that.
They held Michigan to 33 percent shooting overall and 20 percent from beyond the arc. However, Michigan shot 11 of 15 (73.3 percent) from the free throw line which was higher than their 68 percent seasonal average.
FSU shot 42.9 percent overall and 3 of 9 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc while going five of five from the free throw line.
The Noles were led by Phil Cover and PJ Savoy with seven and six points respectively.
2nd Half
FSU starts the second half going down low to Christ Koumadje three straight possessions and only scored on one of them. Michigan scored on two layups and a three pointer off an offensive rebound to take their biggest lead of the game at 34-28 with 15:42 left in the game.
FSU had a couple of sloppy offensive possession and the referees decided to swallow their whistles. Michigan with two more layups pushed the lead to 10 with just over 14 minutes remaining.
However, FSU defense tighten up and Michigan missed some open looks that allowed the Noles to cut the lead to 40-37 on a Phil Cofer basket and the foul with 10 minutes to go.
FSU decided to stop rebounding the ball for whatever reason as Michigan was able to make them pay for the extra possessions. Michigan had the lead 45-42 with six minutes remaining.
FSU had a chance to tie the game and Phil Cofer forced a three which resulted in a transition layup for Michigan to push the lead to 47-42.
The Noles got some good shots on offense but just couldn’t convert and Michigan was able to do so. A Michigan three pointer with 2:26 was the dagger to put the Noles down 10 with 2:15 left.
Terrance Mann ended an eight minute field goal drought for FSU with a jumper to cut the lead to 54-46 with 2:07 left. PJ Savoy was fouled on a three-point attempt and cut the lead to 54-49 with 1:30 left in the game.
Final Push
FSU went in to foul mode since Michigan only shot 68 percent from the free throw line all season. Michigan went 1 of 2 from the line and PJ Savoy nailed a three pointer to cut the lead to 55-52 with 1:17 left.
The Noles cut the lead to 56-54 with 22 second left and sent Michigan to the line and they made both to go up 58-54 and that would be the final score.
FSU shot the ball 32 percent from the field and only shot 23.5 percent from the three-point line while making 18 of 20 free throws.
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Michigan shot 38.8 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from beyond the arc. However, it was the 14 turnovers in the first half that were largely unforced that was the difference in the game.