FSU basketball: Noles control own destiny with Duke loss to Virginia

FSU basketball was robbed by the officials against Clemson several times. The basketball God’s made up for it a few hours later.

No. 6 FSU basketball could not build on all the goodwill they built up after demolishing Louisville Monday night.

A one-point loss to a barely over .500 Clemson team put the Noles in a three-way tie with Duke and Louisville for sole possession of first place in the ACC standings.

However, Duke beat FSU while Louisville beat Duke in their previous matchup, and FSU has beaten Louisville twice.

That meant the Noles would not win their first outright ACC regular-season title unless they won their next two games and Duke lost one of their remaining games.

Well, Duke lost to defending national champion Virginia, and the Noles are back in sole possession of first place, controlling their destiny for the chance to win their first ACC regular season title.

FSU will travel to Notre Dame next week and wrap up the regular-season hosting Boston College. It’s two games the Noles will be favored to win.

Thoughts

I honestly thought FSU basketball had no shot at getting their first ACC regular-season title after the loss to Clemson.

It felt almost like they didn’t deserve even though the referees did play a significant hand in their loss to Clemson. However, they did miss seven free throws and lost by one point, just saying.

The loss to Clemson likely means they probably have no shot at getting a No. 1 seed even if they won the ACC regular season and conference tournament. Duke and Louisville having several losses weaken their overall resume, and the ACC being weaker than usual doesn’t help.

It’s not too shabby for a Leonard Hamilton team picked to finish fifth in the conference preseason after losing two players to the NBA Draft.