Florida State and Florida each entered the game 3-0, with the Seminoles wanting to prove their defense was legit while the Gators wanted to prove they were one of the best teams in the country. The Gators were the more talented team but FSU is a scrappy bunch, and anything can happen in a rivalry.
Both teams were struggling from three entering this game, but Florida quickly killed that slow start, hitting 7/15 from deep in the first half. Walter Clayton Jr. gave FSU fans flashbacks of Duke Jared McCain last season. The defense that had been so strong for the Seminoles to start the season was starting to show some warts by not matching up in transition and lacking communication on the perimeter. They were forcing turnovers at a high rate but when Florida was putting up a shot, it was usually going in.
Jamir Watkins missed his first four free throws, continuing a trend from the start of the season, and that was part of the reason FSU was down 44-31 at the half. The other was the offense went ice cold if Watkins didn’t initiate the action. After starting the game 2/2 from three, the Seminoles made just one of their next seven attempts from deep, while it felt like the Gators couldn’t miss.
FSU’s defense played a little better in the second half, but they could never get close enough to make the Gators fret. They had a chance to cut the lead to five or six with about 12 minutes to go with some good looks, but they missed and Florida extended the lead right back to double digits.
And that’s how the rest of the second half went. Florida State would pull it down to eight or nine, and UF would push it right back up to 12 or 13. That was until the final four minutes of the game.
FSU finally got over that eight-point lead hump by cutting it down to six with a Jamir Watkins layup, then Daquan Davis hit a layup on the ensuing possession to cut the lead down to four with 2:21 to play, the closest the game had been since the first half.
Florida would make two free throws, and Malique Ewin would miss a tip-in to keep the lead at six, Alijah Martin banked in a three (after the shot-clock expired, but Teddy Valentine is a blind official), and then Walter Clayton Jr. hit another three to extend the lead to 12, and that would be all she wrote.
The Seminoles showed some fight and much better effort in the second half, but it ultimately wouldn’t be enough, as they’d fall to the Gators 85-73.
Jamir Watkins had 19 points but would be behind Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. in scoring, who had 25.
Here are three takeaways from Friday’s loss..
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We’ve seen some teams in the past few years give up when the going gets tough, but this team stayed in it until the very end. Had it not been for Alijah Martin’s banked-in three that was after the clock expired, who knows how the last minute and change would’ve gone? But this is a group willing to work for everything they get, and that’s a team worth watching.
Justin Thomas kept the Seminoles afloat, Jamir Watkins was (mostly) Jamir Watkins, and Daquan Davis showed flashes of what he could be as a college point guard. But it can be rough watching this team try to score at times. Malique Ewin, a center, was just 4/13 from the floor. He has all of the talent in the world but keeps missing right at the rim. Coach Hamilton and his staff will have to find ways to make the offense easier for this group.
Todd Golden said he would be worried if his team turned it over more than 12 times in this game. They turned it over NINETEEN times. And still handled the game. Florida State has to figure out some of their communication issues because they’ll be able to force turnovers with the best of them.
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