FSU basketball (7-6) easily defeated the Jacksonville Dolphins (5-8) 87-63 on Monday night in the Tucker Center. It was their second straight non-conference win before opening ACC play this weekend against North Carolina.
It was one of the most complete games FSU has played over the past few weeks. They took care of the ball, only having eight turnovers. They shot 46 percent overall and 33 percent from three-point range (11 of 33). It’s still too many three-point shots, as 54 percent of their shots were from beyond the arc.
FSU was 20 of 26 from the free-throw line, and they didn’t foul nearly as much as they usually do. Jacksonville only shot 14 free throws. FSU only forced eight turnovers, but had 13 fastbreak points.
Jacksonville didn’t have any fastbreak points. The Noles had the edge in rebounding by a decent margin, and everybody got into the game for at least two minutes.
Martin Sommerville led all FSU scorers with 23 and was 5 of 10 on three-point shots. Chauncey Wiggins has 16 points. Alex Steen had 13 points and nine rebounds. Thomas Bassong had 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Robert McCray had five points, five rebounds, and 10 assists.
It's one of the best all around games I've seen from FSU. If they can make free throws at that rate, have fewer than 10 turnovers, have double-digit points on fast breaks, and shoot the ball well? They can probably win a few games in the ACC this year.
They'll have a tough task against North Carolina in their next matchup. FSU will travel to Chapel Hill on Tuesday, December 30th. The game will tip at 7 p.m. and air on ESPN2.