ATLANTA -- The Florida State Seminoles fought off a solid Miami team playing for its NCAA life Friday and earned an 82-71 victory in the quarterfinals of the 59th ACC Tournament.
The Seminoles got some nice clutch shooting from Ian Miller and Michael Snaer in the win. But FSU also did a very good job in the paint, especially in the second half.
FSU improved to 22-9 with the victory while Miami dropped to 19-12.
Here are both teams’ grades for their performances Friday night:
Miami offense: Playing without guard Durand Scott wasn’t easy for the Hurricanes, but they did a nice job of making a push at the Seminoles. Rion Brown scored 13 points off the bench, and Malcolm Grant had a quality performance (19 points) and Shane Larkin added 16. But the Canes didn’t get enough stuff inside and just weren’t able to match FSU. Miami shot 40.6 percent from the field, though it converted 40 percent (10-for-25) from 3-point range. The Canes grabbed 14 offensive rebounds but simply didn’t convert enough. Grade: C.
FSU offense: Miller (17 points) and Snaer (20) were outstanding, and when they play like that and FSU gets enough buckets inside, they are a solid offensive team. In fact, with Miller, Snaer, Bernard James, Luke Loucks, and Okaro White the main lineup after halftime, FSU looked like a team that can make a run in the NCAAs. FSU converted 48 percent of its shots, including 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) percent from beyond the arc. Grade: A.
Miami defense: Stopping the ball was a problem all night, as FSU was able to get plenty of good looks, especially from 15 feet and out. The post defense could have been better, as well, though Miami won the battle on the glass. Grade: C-.
FSU defense: Leonard Hamilton’s team did a great job of making Miami one-dimensional. The Canes had little inside game (Kenny Kadji finished with 3 points) and ended up replying too much on the perimeter. Grade: B+.
Miami intangibles: The Canes were dealt with the bad news about Scott not too long before the game started but handled it well. They competed as if an NCAA bid was on the line, won the rebounding battle 38-31, and played well enough to beat a lot of teams. But they weren’t good enough for an FSU club that was at a high level. Grade: B.
FSU intangibles: The Seminoles had a championship mentality Friday night. They got baskets when they needed them, stops when they needed them, and usually came up with the little plays at the right times. This was an impressive all around performance, maybe their best since winning at Duke in January. Grade: A.
