For the first time in 20 years, the Florida State offense has hit the century mark for the second consecutive game on their way to rout Detroit Mercy, 100-71. The ‘Noles were fueled by a 32-4 run in the second half, overcoming early struggles to coast to an easy victory.
Both teams fought to find any separation in the early going, sharing respective runs of their own. With 10:05 remaining, Mercy had the Florida State (4-0) lead trimmed down to just three points. The ‘Noles would answer with a 12-2 run and enter the half with a 48-35 lead.
“It wasn’t the effort, they (Detroit) hit some really quality shots.” Head coach Leonard Hamilton said. “Sometimes teams will come in here with a good game plan, we just have to concentrate on breaking that.”
Coming out of the half, Florida State once again started slow, head coach Leonard Hamilton called a timeout around the eight-minute mark and that was all she wrote.
Florida State answered with a 32-4 run, this is where FSU once again showed how much depth this team really has. The ability to keep putting fresh bodies on the court for a full 40-minute game physically and mentally wears opposing teams down.
“we got six baskets and maybe four of them were transition. Deflections, steals, blocks and we were able to extend the lead” Coach Hamilton said when asked about the big second half run. “I thought it was us during that period of time being a little fresher, being able to get some deflections, overplay a little bit, get some steals and that’s the residual effect of playing a quality game.”
The run was excelled due to Mercy (1-3) having trouble with the ball, but the size different is what made the biggest difference in the long run.
Florida State was able to outman and outscore Mercy in the paint 78-26, this is a promising sign for Seminoles fans. The bigs have shown an ability to finish down low early in the season, something that this team has struggled with in recent years. But, you are not going to be able to score 80 points in the paint against a Duke or North Carolina. FSU is going to have to be able to shoot the ball from the perimeter, which was an issue on Sunday.
The Seminoles hot a staggering 1-14 from the arc, which is almost impressive. With these smaller teams coming in, this is fine, you can beat the ball in the paint like FSU did. But the three pointer will have to improve tremendously in the coming games or this Florida State time is going to struggle winning ball games.
“We are growing, we are improving, but we still have a long way to go.” Coach Hamilton said.
On the bright side, FSU will have some time to rest before having to travel to Brooklyn to face Temple on Thanksgiving Day.
