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FSU Basketball: How the Noles reached the Sweet 16

By Kelvin Hunt

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 24: Head coach Leonard Hamilton of the Florida State Seminoles reacts against the Michigan Wolverines during the second half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional Final at Staples Center on March 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 24: Head coach Leonard Hamilton of the Florida State Seminoles reacts against the Michigan Wolverines during the second half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional Final at Staples Center on March 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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FSU basketball has reached the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season and face off against No. 1 seed Gonzaga in a rematch from last year’s tournament.

FSU basketball continues to break its own records under Coach Leonard Hamilton with one of the deepest teams in the nation.

The Noles should have been a No. 3 seed, but you know they say the ball doesn’t lie right?

They got to matchup against No. 13 seeded Vermont and pulled away late to make it to the field of 32.

FSU then got to match up against No. 12 seed Murray State instead of No. 5 seed Marquette Saturday and proceeded to blow the doors off Ja Morant and Murray State to reach the Sweet 16.

How did the Noles beat Vermont and Murray State?

Defense

Well, it all starts with defense for this FSU basketball team. When they defend well they can compete with any team in the nation.

FSU has held its two NCAA Tournament opponent to an average of 38.1 percent field goal shooting. They’ve forced 20 steals and 10 blocks over the past two games. The Noles have also crashed the boards well as they are +18 over the two tournament games.

Offense

FSU has been fantastic at the free throw line, hitting over 80 percent over the last two games (38 of 46).

Offensively the Noles didn’t shoot well against Vermont but that’s where their aggressiveness came into play with getting to the free throw line to cash in (31 of 37).

The Noles shot it so well against Murray State that they only took nine free throw attempts the entire game. FSU shot 50 percent and were 11 of 27 from the three-point line with five of those shots coming from reserves that went in the game late.

The three-point line has been good to the Noles the past two games if you take out those five shots the reserves took. That’s a 41 percent clip from long-range whereas they normally connect about 35 percent of the time.

Final Thoughts

I still maintain this team is one of the best in the country and can beat anyone on any given day/night. It all comes down to taking smart shots on the offensive end and locking in on the defensive side of the ball.

They’ll face a tough test against Gonzaga next week and are seven point underdogs by most oddsmakers.

dark. Next. FSU A Serious Contender With Back-to-Back Sweet 16 Appearances

However, if the Noles play defense and shoot it well they’ll have a great shot to upset them just as they did a year ago in last year’s tournament.

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