FSU basketball upsets Pittsburgh on and off the court for its best win of the season

FSU basketball (12-5, 3-3) improved its ACC record to .500 with an 82-70 upset win over the Pittsburgh Panthers for their best win this season. Every FSU win before Wednesday night had come against Quad 3 and Quad 4 teams.

The win against Pitt should be a Quad 2 win, as Pitt was thought to be a potential NCAA Tournament team, projected as a No. 9 seed and the No. 34 team overall.

The first half of the game was so ugly, with FSU's defense swarming Pittsburgh players and forcing 14 turnovers in the first half. FSU threatened to pull away a couple of times and end the half with a 28-23 lead, with Chandler Jackson making a jump shot as the buzzer sounded.

FSU stretched its lead to 16 at one point, but Pitt clawed their way back to within five points with five minutes remaining. The game became a free-throw contest, with FSU making most of theirs down the stretch for the double-digit win.

Jamir Watkins had an excellent night, leading the way with 26 points and eight rebounds. Malique Ewin continued his strong play with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Chandler Jackson had 13, and Daquan Davis had 11.

FSU went 28 of 33 from the free-throw line and shot 43 percent overall and 31 percent from the three-point line. FSU's defense held Pitt to 37.5 percent shooting overall, and they made 8 of 21 three-pointers. Former FSU player Cameron Corhen laid a dud in his return, finishing with two points and nine rebounds.

Corhen had been testy during most of the matchup and was part of a small dust-up between the two teams after the game. Pitt didn't like a last-second dunk by Malique Ewin and had something to say about it in the handshake line.

What a joke for a coach and his assistants to behave that way. FSU will host Georgia Tech at noon on Saturday with the game airing on ESPNU.