FSU drops the ACC-SEC Challenge match as LSU runs away from the Seminoles in the second half

After missing its first Quad One opportunity a few weeks ago, the Florida State Seminoles men’s basketball team was given another opportunity to bolster its resume on Tuesday night. Since LSU entered tonight’s game ranked 51st in NET and was able to finish the season as a team in the bubble, this game became a benchmark for both sides.

Unfortunately, this defeat was similar to the other one tonight. They held on against Florida, but the Gators always found a way to respond and played by a familiar script tonight. The Seminoles never let the game get out of control, but whenever they got close, the Tigers found a way to knock down a three-pointer or get to the line. Worst of all, the Noles took the lead at halftime and looked dominant for much of the game, but turnovers and a poor start to the second half dashed their hopes.

Perhaps the only thing worse than FSU’s performance after halftime was the official broadcast or the SEC Network broadcast.

Malique Ewin played his best game in garnet and gold with a double-double, but the rest of the offense sputtered. FSU crashed from the three-point line late in the second half, with Jamir Watkins shooting 6-for-19 from the floor. Meanwhile, the Tigers came under fire from long range after halftime, smashing the glass and failing to turn the ball over like FSU has done to other opponents this year.

1st half:

Offensive rebounds became a problem early in this game as LSU had a held ball and a second chance to take an early 5-2 lead. At least FSU got the good version of Malique Ewin tonight, who assisted or scored the first seven Seminole points. The teams were evenly matched at seven in the U16s as the teams combined for four turnovers in the first four minutes, setting the stage for what was expected to be a tough game.

The schools exchanged baskets during the media timeout, including an and-one to LSU’s Cam Carter before the Seminoles turned the ball over, and the Tigers knocked down the following three as they went on a quick 6-0 run. Watkins drew a foul on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws to slow the momentum. FSU held the Bayou Bengals scoreless for the next 2:30 minutes, including a shot clock violation, while Justin Thomas turned defense into offense with a steal and drew a foul, but went 1-for-2 from the line, giving LSU a lead of Two points gave the under 12th place.

Ewin ended the game with a nice move inside, but LSU finally ended its 3:30 minute scoreless streak with a dunk in response. The game slowed down again as the Tigers frustrated FSU with their length and prevented easy passes, while the Seminoles turned LSU around and took them out of their rhythm as they made one of their final ten field goal attempts. The Seminole defense created another three-minute scoreless draft, and Watkins took advantage of a transition opportunity with a quick layup and the foul (apparently he missed the free throw). remains undecided at 21 in the U-8 team.

Ewin’s strong play continued as he scooped up a loose ball on a rebound, knocked down both free throws to tie the game at 23, and moved into double figures with 11. The fast-paced pace of the game continued as Davis smoked a layup after a steal and LSU slammed the ball out of bounds in return. Ewin gave FSU its first lead of the night with an offensive rebound after a miss by Watkins, while the Seminoles overwhelmed the Tigers on back-to-back possessions. Chandler Jackson started his own 5-0 run with a tough layup before draining the first three-pointer of the Florida State game, forcing LSU to call a timeout.

LSU finally got off the mat with a three-pointer, but Taylor Bol Bown answered with a three-pointer of his own, allowing the Seminoles to maintain a seven-point lead. Fouls, bad shots and free throws erupted between the teams over the next few minutes toward the end of the first half, but LSU cut the lead to three after Ewin missed the front end on a one-and-one and the Tigers scored in transition . After Daquon Davis knocked down two free throws on an over-the-back, the Seminoles took their first timeout of the half with 1:25 remaining and a five-point lead. The Seminoles went scoreless the rest of the period and didn’t make a field goal for 3:10 in the final, but held on to a three-point lead at halftime.

Ewin led all scorers at halftime with 13 rebounds and was three rebounds shy of a double-double as he played his best 20 minutes in garnet and gold. The FSU defense stifled LSU in the first half, holding them to 35% FG and 21% from three, but eight offensive rebounds and 16 points in the game kept their offense afloat.

2nd half:

LSU responded immediately, starting the second half with a quick 8-0 run, with FSU calling a timeout in the first two minutes of the half. With a lead of 40-35, Watkins got a steal and Ewin floated in a layup to put the Seminoles on the court. However, Florida State turned the ball over on consecutive plays, missing an opportunity to cut the deficit to one possession. In the U16 game, FSU turned the ball over five times and allowed three offensive rebounds.

After Holt went 1-for-2 from the line, the Tigers made a great ATO play that led to their third three-pointer of the half, extending their lead to six. Then the Seminoles turned the ball over and committed a foul as the deficit grew to eight, its largest of the night. Jackson tried to stave off the momentum with a pull-up jumper from the elbow, but Ewin picked up his third foul on the ensuing possession and the Tigers drained a deep three-pointer

. Jerry Deng responded immediately with FSU’s first long ball of the second half as the game gained momentum. On the next drive on the ground, Ewin recorded a double-double with a rebound on a missed shot by Justin Thomas, but collapsed to the ground with apparent cramps (he returned shortly thereafter).

The Tigers continued to allow three-pointers while FSU continued to be called for fouls, as LSU had five three-pointers and the Seminoles recorded six fouls in the first eight minutes of the half. In the U12s, LSU led by nine games (54:45), while Jordan Sears went on a quick 5-0 run alone.

Watkins scored two points out of the timeout, and Thomas hit a 4-foot floater and a free throw after a steal. Although FSU cut the lead to four twice, the Tigers smashed the glass as they scored points on offensive rebounds from second-chance points. LSU extended its lead to eight of four consecutive points on free throws as the Seminoles were whistled all night. The Tigers entered the U8 team with a 10-point lead using the same formula that teams had with success against FSU: offensive rebounds, second chances for points and taking away the first offense.

Watkins took a terrible shot out of the break as his miserable evening worsened at this point in the game with 5:16 left. On the ensuing possession, Jackson missed a turnover, allowing the Seminoles to make one of their final seven shots from the floor and go no points for three minutes.

Thomas changed the momentum with a nice rebound, a hard drive and a floater, as well as the foul, reducing the deficit to seven with five minutes left. As the Tigers had found a way all night, they responded, and a late foul increased the Tigers’ lead when the Seminoles needed a stop. Jackson returned to the line on the next drive down the field, taking a 2-1 lead, and then FSU fouled again. Most of the Tigers offense came from the stripe or offensive rebounds, a trend that most teams exploit against FSU when they have success, and when they really needed a basket, they dropped a three-pointer like they did did to increase the lead back to ten at the bottom four.

A missed free throw on the front end of a one-on-one that resulted in a transition score effectively ended this game. Two straight three-pointers raised eyebrows, but FSU allowed two consecutive baskets, including a dunk after a terrible pass from Watkins that increased the lead to ten with 90 seconds left. The Tigers capped their 50-point mark in the second half with a dunk, while a foul delayed the game’s inevitable end.

Takeaways:

• FSU’s defense let them down in the second half because they had a lead at the break. The Tigers scored more than 50 points in the second half, shot 6-for-13 from long range, including five in the first eight minutes, and got to the line 20 times. It didn’t help that the Seminoles turned the ball over seven times, committed 15 personal fouls and had the whistle blown against them in the final 20 minutes. But poor rotations and terrible interior defense, especially defensive rebounding, plagued the Seminoles.
• As I openly mentioned, tonight felt similar to the contest against the Gators. There were moments of squad brilliance and elite shooting, but a poor performance, this time early in the second half, and a team getting hot from three balls, was too much to overcome.
• It’s a chicken-or-egg situation because poor defense led to terrible offense, especially in the second half. FSU finished the day with less than a point per possession and turned the ball over on 18% of its attempts on the field, which would have been higher without the garbage time. The same goes for three-point shooting, where the Noles went 6-for-19 from distance, but the result looks worse when the two three-pointers are knocked down in less than two minutes. Ball movement was non-existent at certain points in the game, and FSU recorded just ten assists on 28 baskets made. Oh, it doesn’t help going 13-22 from the free throw line when many of those were on the front ends of one-on-ones.
• The formula calls for FSU to win and lose games in eight games. To win, they need to create easy offense on turnovers, prevent teams from getting overheated from deep, and find a third scorer outside of Watkins or Ewin. It makes sense that they lost tonight considering LSU only turned the ball over 11 times while scoring 14 second-chance points to go with their 15 offensive rebounds, a problem that keeps coming up. The Tigers also beat FSU from distance, and the Seminoles couldn’t come back because their offense isn’t designed to score in groups, especially when just one player shot over 50% from the floor.