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FSU Basketball: 3 takeaways from ‘Noles loss to Gonzaga

By Kelvin Hunt

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 14: Mfiondu Kabengele #25 of the Florida State Seminoles reacts to a play against the Virginia Tech Hokies during their game in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 14, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 14: Mfiondu Kabengele #25 of the Florida State Seminoles reacts to a play against the Virginia Tech Hokies during their game in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 14, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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FSU basketball picked a bad time to play a bad game against a good team in the Sweet 16. Three takeaways from the ‘Noles loss against Gonzaga.

No. 4 seeded FSU basketball (29-8) saw its season come to an end in a 72-58 loss and No. 1 seeded Gonzaga in the Sweet 16.

The Noles got off to a terrible start with eight turnovers in the first nine minutes of the game. That was one of my keys to the game as I knew Gonzaga was great at forcing turnovers coupled with FSU’s propensity to turn it over at times this season.

Gonzaga was up 11 points at halftime as the Noles had a chance to get the lead down to five or six points before turning it over and allowing a layup plus the foul as the half ended.

FSU basketball was able to hang around in the second half and cut the lead down to four with four minutes remaining in the game.

However, the Noles missed some shots and turned the ball over with the referees swallowing their whistles at least three times as FSU was taking the ball to the basket to give the Bulldogs the win.

Three Takeways

  • Terrance Mann and Mfiondu Kabengele were nullfied as the two accounted for 13 points total. The went a combined 5-19 and 0-3 from three-point range.
  • FSU was crushed on the offensive boards in key spots. I counted at least three times Gonzaga was able to get the offensive board and tip the shot back in. Gonzaga was +6 on the offensive boards for the game.
  • Gonzaga shot it better from three-point range than FSU. They were 7 of 19 while FSU basketball was 3 of 20.

Final Thoughts

The Noles only shooting 11 free throws tells you all you need to know about their shot selection. Another of our keys to winning was not settling for jump shots or falling in love with the three-point shot.

Of course the Noles did the total opposite and paid the price. It was a great season with FSU basketball reaching 29 wins for the first time ever.

Next. 3 Forgotten Areas Where Depth Needs To Emerge In 2019. dark

However, it’s disappointing to see them play so poorly on the biggest stage of the year.

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