If you’re one for over-reacting to an early season game, Florida State’s 63-51 handling of Florida in Gainesville on Sunday gives you the perfect opportunity for an overload there. You can have all kinds of fun with it.
Start with the Gators, a team that much is expected from this season. They have an overload of talent, and after chemistry was an issue last season – one that still ended with a trip to the NCAA Tournament and a first round win – the preseason reports suggest that shouldn’t be a problem this time around. Many think they can make a Final Four run this season, and understandably so. Less said is how good a coach they have, as Mike White doesn’t get enough credit for what he’s done in his career to date.
With all of that, getting handled by a team that lost quite a bit from a year ago seems to be a downer. Coming off a double-digit win in their opener, one might even be tempted to say that they look different now that they played a “real” team, although North Florida should contend for the Atlantic Sun title and thus is no pushover. Simply put, the Gators, while very talented and also with some experience, have some youth, and they can look like a young team at times, especially early on.
Sunday’s numbers were not good, as they shot 28 percent from the field including 4-22 from long range and had 16 turnovers.
But let’s give Florida State credit. The Seminoles, who have won six straight against the Gators, will be figuring some things out early on, having lost not only production and experience but also intangibles. To the latter point of that, Terance Mann was the heart and soul of that team, and he’s now suiting up for the Los Angeles Clippers. It’s one thing to lose a lot of production, but intangibles are not easily made up for.
One thing we know by now, though, is that Leonard Hamilton can coach a little. Since coming to Tallahassee, he has consistently assembled teams with plenty of length and athleticism, and that alone has given them chances. But his teams can play, too, and last season they won 29 games and reached the Sweet 16. It’s not a surprise that they put forth a big-time defensive effort on Sunday.
If you want to go the over-reaction route here, do you think this means the Seminoles are better than we think? Do you see this as evidence that the season-opening loss at Pittsburgh says more about the Panthers, or is just an aberration?
Or do we just realize that this is one early game that only tells us so much? It’s a win for the Seminoles that will surely have shelf life later on should they be on the NCAA Tournament bubble, but let’s give them credit for a solid performance and perhaps see this as evidence that they should be pretty good again, and leave it at that.
Side Dishes
The other big matchup of high-majors on Sunday came late in the day, and it was another good one for the Pac-12 as its bounce-back continues. Arizona took the lead on a buzzer-beater before halftime, then broke away from Illinois in the second half for a 90-69 win over a team many think is a national sleeper this season. The stellar freshman tandem of Nico Mannion (23 points, nine assists) and Josh Green (20 points) paced the Wildcats, who didn’t let Illinois star Ayo Dosunmu beat them as he had 15 points but on 6-14 shooting, and he also had five turnovers. Arizona shot 55.7 percent from the field, including 7-16 from long range, and forced 22 Illini turnovers although they gave it away 16 times themselves.
Michigan State star Cassius Winston deserves a big tip of the hat, as well as our thoughts and prayers. His brother died after being hit by an Amtrak train in Albion, Michigan, on Saturday night, then he had a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists in the Spartans’ 100-47 romp over Binghamton.
Some other results that stood out on Sunday: Boston College went on the road and got a nice win over USF 74-60, Vermont went on the road and edged Bucknell 66-63, Fresno State got a three-pointer with one second left to edge Winthop 77-74, and Jalen Hill had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help UCLA handle UC Santa Barbara 77-61.
There are tough starts to the season, and there’s the first week for Mississippi Valley State. The Delta Devils were blown out by Central Michigan 134-78 on Sunday to fall to 0-3, with their lowest margin of defeat being their 36-point loss at Iowa State in the opener. Their average margin of defeat is 62 points.
Tonight’s Menu
As will be typical of this night of the week, the slate is fairly light, but has a few good ones to watch. Importantly, we thank our veterans on this day for fighting for our freedom so we can do things like enjoy college basketball.
- Ones to watch early on are Drake at Cincinnati and Georgia Southern at North Florida (7 p.m.)
- The first of the Gavitt Tipoff Games is Iowa hosting DePaul (8 p.m.)
- A sleeper matchup is in the Midwest as Omaha hosts Bethune-Cookman (8:30 p.m.)
- A couple of good ones are on tap a bit later as Winthrop travels to Saint Mary’s and Yale heads to San Francisco (9 p.m.)
- More action in the Rainbow Classic is on tap as South Dakota battles Florida A&M (9:30 p.m.) and Hawaii takes on Pacific (midnight)
