College Basketball

FSU Basketball Recap: Noles Get Embarrassed Against Georgia Tech

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:03 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Frank Urbina/FanSided via Chop Chat

FSU basketball gets destroyed by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, falling 78-56. They are now 18-3, and 6-2 in conference play.

Pathetic. That’s the first word that comes to mind when describing that showing by FSU basketball. Second word that comes to mind? I’ll go with exasperating.

The Seminoles were defeated by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 78-56. After the first five minutes, the game didn’t even feel that close either. It was just an abysmal showing by FSU overall. Not one of the 13 guys who saw the floor should feel satisfied with their performance.

The Yellow Jackets deserve credit. They played hard, and didn’t seem intimidated to be playing the sixth-ranked team in the country. And their two best players played looked like future NBA guys.

What I found most shocking though, was the fact that Georgia Tech didn’t even play that well offensively. They shot 42 percent from the floor, and only made five three-pointers. The Jackets even missed 10 free-throws. But they went after every single loose ball, and exerted an effort that wasn’t remotely matched by FSU.

It’s certainly understandable that the Seminoles were due for a dud after winning five of their last six games against ranked teams. But to look that bad, against a mediocre Georgia Tech team? Definitely cause for concern.

Let’s take a look at the five biggest takeaways from Florida’s State’s demolition at the hands of the Yellow Jackets.

Jan 25, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Dwayne Bacon (4) attempts a three-point basket against Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets guard Josh Okogie (5) in the second half of their game at McCamish Pavilion. The Yellow Jackets won 78-56. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

FSU’s offense completely melted down

41-15. That was the score at halftime. Layups were missed, open three-pointers were bricked, and free-throws were clanked (but at least we’ve grown accustomed to that last one). The team entered the break having made just six field goals. Quite frankly, it was shocking how poorly the offense played.

The second half was better, but still nowhere near good enough. Again, credit Georgia Tech. They’ve been a good defensive team all season. But Florida State has faced (far) better defenses, and not looked like that. Yes, the team struggled to execute. To me, a far bigger issue was the effort level.

For the game, FSU shot 20-for-71 (28 percent) and missed 19 of their 25 attempts from deep. The bench, who usually gives the team a boost, struggled. Furthermore, Jonathan Isaac was 3-of-10, Xavier Rathan-Mayes 2-for-8, and Dwayne Bacon… no, I’ll give Bacon his own section. Because his play of late? Flat-out bad.

Dwayne Bacon has struggled in six straight games

When Bacon put on that show in Charlottesville, scoring 29 points against Virginia’s elite defense, including the game-winning three, we were all in awe. It looked like he was about to make a run into the first round of this year’s NBA Draft. But since then, his play has faltered.

Bacon is shooting 37 percent from the floor over his last six games. Also concerning, he has only made 10 of his last 31 attempts from three. The exact same questions that arose about Bacon’s game this time last season are starting to return. Is he athletic enough to get to the rim and finish in the NBA? And is his three-point shooting consistent enough for the next level? Bacon probably has a foot out the door anyways, but if his current run of form doesn’t improve, he may want to consider a third year of college. (Believe me, I wouldn’t mind.)

When Bacon fails to score efficiently, the rest of the team struggles. Florida State is barely a top 25 unit offensively as is, and their super sophomore is vital to their success. Only three Seminoles average double-digit points, and if Bacon isn’t scoring, they may not have enough to score consistently against good defenses.

I’ve been expecting Bacon to break out of this funk for a while, but even I’m starting to grow wary. Could be that he’s nursing an injury no one knows about (coach Leonard Hamilton is very secretive about that sort of thing) which would explain his struggles. But we’ll never find out if that’s the case or not anyways, so what’s the point of speculating.

Jan 25, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets guard Josh Okogie (5) attempts a shot against Florida State Seminoles forward Phil Cofer (0) and forward Jonathan Isaac (1) in the second half of their game at McCamish Pavilion. The Yellow Jackets won 78-56. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

FSU could not stop Georgia Tech’s two best players

Coming into tonight, FSU had done an excellent job of slowing down opposing team’s best players. Who could forget the Seminoles forcing Wake Forest’s John Collins into a two point, three rebound game in Tallahassee. On the year, he averages 17 and nine, just for reference.

Tonight, however, that was not the case. The two Georgia Tech players that we highlighted in our preview, Josh Okogie and Ben Lammers, have been putting up big numbers all season. And that didn’t change against FSU. They were both absolute monsters against what we thought was a good defensive unit.

Okogie, who’s a freshman by the way, scored 35 points on just 17 shot attempts. Lammers, meanwhile, was only slightly quieter. He finished the game with 18 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Michael Ojo, Jarquez Smith, and Christ Koumadje were all futile in their efforts to slow him down.

Just awful defense. By everyone.

Stop blaming Leonard Hamilton every time the team loses

I feel like I need to repeat myself, because every time the Seminoles lose a basketball game, I see the same foolishness on Twitter: everyone rushing to trash coach Hamilton. So I’ll say it one more time. Stop blaming Hamilton for everything. He’s not the Boogie Man. Stop it.

Sometimes, it falls on the players. You can’t tell me you watched that game and thought their effort level was anywhere close to acceptable. Offense, defense, it was all bad.

If you want to say Hamilton failed to get his team motivated enough to play, I would probably respond by laughing in your face. He was able to get them up to beat five ranked teams in a six game stretch, but he couldn’t do the same against Georgia Tech? Sorry, but no.

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FSU can’t let this loss turn into multiple losses

My last point is probably my most obvious. The Seminoles can’t let this loss linger. If they head into Syracuse on Saturday with their heads hanging, they will get run out of the gym (again).

The ACC is a tough conference, and a road loss isn’t the end of the world. It’s all about how Florida State responds. After seeing how they recovered after losing to Temple and North Carolina, I think they’ll be mature enough to have a bounce-back game against ‘Cuse.

Check back with us on Saturday for our Syracuse preview.

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