FSU basketball: Noles blowout Miami Hurricanes for 7th straight in series

No. 11 FSU basketball (14-3, 10-2 ACC) blew out the Miami Hurricanes (7-14, 3-13 ACC) for the second time this year and seventh straight win in the series.

The 88-71 win easily covered the spread and Virginia’s loss to NC State give the Noles some margin of error to win the ACC Regular Season title in back-to-back seasons for the first time.

FSU wasted no time jumping on the Miami Hurricanes as they led by as many as 11 points after only seven minutes of play.

The Noles had their way against the limited Canes, and the game looked more like a pick-up game at times, with FSU players scoring at will on dunks and layups.

FSU shot 53.6 percent from the floor, 36 percent from three-point range, and made five of seven free-throws.

FSU basketball was without MJ Walker, and Malik Osborne was injured early in the game from what looked like a twisted ankle in which he had to be helped off of the court.

Sadaar Calhoun picked up the slacked and led all scorers with 16 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Balsa Koprivica, Anthony Polite, and RaiQuan Gray all scored in double figures, with Scottie Barnes chipping in with eight points on eight assists.

This game is what you wanted to see from the Noles against an inferior team. They only had 11 turnovers and were +9 on the boards with 21 assists and eight blocks.

Most importantly, FSU avoided getting sloppy and allowing Miami to make a significant cut into the lead at any point.

The Noles have had a propensity to allow that at times, and that’s the difference between really good and elite.

FSU will likely face the toughest game remaining on the schedule Saturday afternoon when they travel to Chapel Hill to take on the North Carolina Tarheels.

The game will tipoff at 4 p.m. on ESPN.