FSU basketball: Last place Georgia Tech snaps ‘Noles win streak

FSU basketball (13-6, 6-3 ACC) went on the road and lost 75-61 against a Georgia Tech (9-10, 2-6) squad that was dead last in the conference.

The Noles shot 48.1 percent overall in the first half, 2 of 9 from three-point land, and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line. However, the biggest issue was 12 turnovers and allowing Georgia Tech to make 8 of 19 from three-point land. I wrote in the preview, the latter was the only thing the Yellow Jackets did decently. However, Georgia Tech seemed to play with more energy and forced the Noles into bad shots with their zone defense. The Yellow Jackets only had three first-half turnovers. A Caleb Mills three-pointer before the first half buzzer saw the Noles with a 44-33 deficit at halftime.

The second half saw the Noles cut the lead to eight points on a Camron Fletcher three-pointer with 14 minutes remaining. Georgia Tech retook an 11-point lead on a Jordan Usher baseline jumper with 12:20 remaining. An Anthony Polite three-pointer cut the lead to 55-48 with 9:25 remaining, and Polite scored on the next possession to cut the lead to 55-50 with 8:53 remaining. A John Butler three-pointer cut the lead to 57-53 with 8:02 remaining. However, Georgia Tech made four free throws on their next two possessions to extend the lead to 61-53 with 6:19 remaining.

Anthony Polite’s three-pointer cut the lead to 61-56 with 5:05, but Georgia Tech scored on their next possession to make it 63-56. I should point out the free throw attempts difference was 24-9, favoring Georgia Tech with four minutes remaining. A Georgia Tech three-pointer made it 66-58 with 3:32 remaining. FSU cut the lead back to 66-60 on two free throws, but would never get any closer. FSU shot 40 percent overall, 41 percent from three-point land, and 62.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Parting Thoughts

The point spread was only five points, but it was a game the Noles couldn’t afford to lose with Georgia Tech’s resume. It hard to beat teams turning the ball over 17 times and allowing them to make 10 three-pointers. I wrote these next three games would tell us a lot about this team. This game proved this young team has a long way to go before we can consider them good.