INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — In the East Region of the NCAA Tournament, Florida State (17-6) is a sleeper team to reach the Final Four. With top-seed Michigan without senior Isaiah Livers indefinitely, the East Region is the most competitive. A team like Florida State, who finished 2nd in the ACC, is now one of the favorites to upset Michigan.
However, they would have to start with an upset-minded UNC Greensboro (21-9) from the Southern Conference. In the end, their defensive effort led to a 13-4 run to end the game and secure a 64-54 first-round win. They held UNCG to just one made field goal in the final 4 minutes and 52 seconds to seal the game. RaiQuan Gray led the way for Florida State with 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Overall, Florida State was the better team; they led from start-to-finish while extending the lead to 16 at one point. However, UNCG would not go away. In the 2nd half, they used a 15-6 run to trim the lead to 1 point with just over 5 minutes remaining.
“You got to give Coach Miller a tremendous compliment because I thought he had his guys very well prepared. I thought we executed their game plan. We got out on them early. They fought back,” said Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton.
Florida State wins despite not making a three-pointer
Florida State is not used to playing low-scoring games. In the ACC, they ranked No. 1 in scoring with 78.3 PPG. As a team, they shot the highest three-point percentage at 38.3% during the regular season. However, UNCG is built on defense. They held teams to 67.3 PPG during their Championship season in the Southern Conference.
On Saturday, UNCG held Florida State to a season-low point total at 64. For Florida State offensively, they failed to knock down a shot from behind-the-arc, shooting 0 for 9. Those attempts all came in the first half, as Florida State abandoned the three-point shot in the secnd. However, they imposed their will down low, shooting 52.1 from the field despite the misses from deep. Coach Hamilton addressed the offensive game plan after the game.
“I’m going to have to go back and watch the film, but I’d like to think that maybe North Carolina Greensboro understood we were a pretty good three-point shooting team, and they got to our shooters pretty good. But I also think in the second half we got stops and got deflections and got out and got to the basket attacking the rim,” said coach Hamilton.
Up Next
No. 4 Florida State vs. No. 5 Colorado, Monday, March 22, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
