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FSU basketball: Takeaways from ‘Noles comeback win over Notre Dame

By Kelvin Hunt

GAINESVILLE, FL - DECEMBER 04: The Florida State bench cheers after a score during a NCAA basketball game against the Florida Gators at the Stephen C. O' Connell Center on December 4, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FL - DECEMBER 04: The Florida State bench cheers after a score during a NCAA basketball game against the Florida Gators at the Stephen C. O' Connell Center on December 4, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images) /
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FSU basketball continues to show they can turn it on when they want to in the second-half of games. Takeaways from the win over Notre Dame.

No. 7 FSU basketball (25-5, 15-4 ACC) continues to control their destiny after their 73-71 comeback win over Notre Dame (18-12, 9-10 ACC).

The win assures the Noles of at least a share of the ACC regular-season title, and winning their next game against Boston College would clinch the regular-season title for the first time.

The game was a tale of two halves, much like the Clemson game, but reversed without the referees being terrible.

Notre Dame was shooting over 50 percent in the first half and was something I questioned if it could continue going into halftime where the Irish led by seven points.

They were bombing from beyond the arc, but those shots stopped falling as the Noles began to press the action around the 10-minute mark with Notre Dame holding a 13-point lead. A three-pointer by M.J. Walker at the 8:42 mark was the catalyst behind the win.

He scored all 13 of FSU’s points in five-minutes to cut the deficit down to two points with five minutes remaining. It was at that point FSU basketball fans felt like they had a chance to win the game as they usually close games out well.

Takeaways

FSU wouldn’t have won the game if M.J. Walker didn’t take matters into his own hands. He wanted the ball and made good things happen for the Noles to get back into the game after a period where they looked totally out of sync.

Another key to the victory was FSU only turning the ball over just 10 times compared to forcing Notre Dame to turn it over 15 times.

Another key was their free-throw shooting. The Noles were 14 of 17 (82.4 percent) as six of those free throws were made in the final 2:40 of the game.

The win was another instance of the team finding a way to win when it looked inept at times. They seemed the same way against Louisville at times, but when they decide to turn it on, they are one of the best teams in the nation.

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The only problem with that inconsistency is it could come back to bite them in tournament play.

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