Florida State basketball have been on hot lately, where they have won seven of its last nine games. However, the Seminoles had to face off against an impressive Miami team at home in the Tucker Center.
Florida State fell to Miami by a score of 83-73. The Seminoles cannot hang their heads because the Hurricanes have been very successful this season, with a 22-6 overall record. They tied the game at 57 with 7:54 left in the second half, but Miami was too much to handle.
With that being said, Florida State should avoid falling into that type of mindset. They are better than how they played last night. The Seminoles were out-matched in every facet inside the paint. Miami outrebounded by a margin of 42-23, and Florida State isn't going to win conference games like that.
Florida State has a lesson to be learned in handling Miami's physicality
Coming into the contest, it should have been known that Miami is considered one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the conference (even though they shot 9/21 in the game). Their main objective is to dominate their opponents inside the paint.
One player that Florida State couldn't stop effectively was Miami senior forward Malik Reneau, who had a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds, plus the former Seminole point guard Tre Donaldson had 21 points and six assists (according to ESPN Stats and Information).
Forwards Chauncey Wiggins and Lajae Jones combined for 35 points, but the rest of the team was virtually non-existent. I originally thought that since the Hurricanes like to be physical inside, forward Alex Steen would be more of a factor, but it just wasn't his night on the offensive or defensive end.
As we alluded to before, this isn't a loss that would impact their NCAA Tournament hopes because I think they have to win the ACC Championship to get an automatic bid into March Madness, given the early losses in the season. The Seminoles will now lick its wounds and will play Georgia Tech on the road Saturday, February 28th at noon EST on the ACC Network.