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FSU basketball: 3 takeaways from ‘Noles huge win over Pittsburgh

By Kelvin Hunt

SUNRISE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 21: Patrick Williams #4 of the Florida State Seminoles dunks against the South Florida Bulls during the second half of the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic at BB&T Center on December 21, 2019 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 21: Patrick Williams #4 of the Florida State Seminoles dunks against the South Florida Bulls during the second half of the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic at BB&T Center on December 21, 2019 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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FSU basketball made oddsmakers look like geniuses Tuesday night with their strong second-half to avenge a previous loss against Pittsburgh.

No. 8 FSU basketball (22-4, 12-3 ACC) used a strong second half to pull away from Pittsburgh (15-12, 6-10 ACC) to avenge their first loss of the season by a score of 82-67 to cover the 12 point spread.

It was a tight contest through the first half with the Noles threatening to pull away with about seven minutes left. However,  Pittsburgh managed to stay within five points at halftime 38-33.

The Noles switched to a zone that seemed to cause the poor shooting Panthers some issues, and the Noles kept pouring it on offensively.

FSU basketball shot 50 percent from the floor and was 40.9 percent from three-point land while making 9 of 12 free throws. Pittsburgh was held to 37.5 percent shooting overall and was 4 of 22 from three-point land while going 21 of 26 from the free-throw line.

Three Takeaways

  • Noles can win without Devin Vassell being spectacular
  • Five-star freshman Patrick Williams is beginning to emerge
  • FSU crushed Pittsburgh on the boards

Devin Vassell was held out of the Syracuse game and was virtually invisible of 19 minutes against the Panthers Tuesday night. He had three points, four rebounds and two assists on just 1 of 5 shooting. Three of his five shots were three-pointers with one of those being the lone shot he made on the night. Pittsburgh isn’t a good team, but it’s promising the Noles were able to avenge a loss by a comfortable margin with him not being much of a contributing factor.

Patrick Williams is starting to shoot up the draft boards. The former five-star led the team with 16 points, five rebounds and a block. He’s scored in double-digits in four of his last five games while averaging nearly six rebounds per game.

The Noles had 40 rebounds (17 offensive) compared to only 27 rebounds for Pittsburgh. It’s an area FSU basketball has struggled on the season, but it was nice to see them dominate in that area against a team that beat them in this area in their first game.

light. Related Story. Projecting Linebacker Depth For Noles in 2020

The Noles will travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, to take on the NC State Wolfpack (16-9, 7-7 ACC) Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. The game will air on the ACC Network with NC State being a hungry team that’s on the bubble of making the NCAA Tournament.

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