ATLANTA — Florida State now has its golden
opportunity.
A chance that the Seminoles have only had once before — despite playing in its
21st Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
After defeating No. 6 Duke 62-59 on Saturday, FSU will play Sunday for
something it has never won — a trophy that will mean something for years to
come.
It's a chance to show the college basketball world that this team is more than
just a knockout artist of top-10 teams — but that FSU is also one of the
game's elite programs.
FSU had the chance in 2009 — also in Atlanta — after beating No. 1 North
Carolina in a semifinal. But the Seminoles fell to Duke in the title game.
With No. 17 FSU's win over Duke on Saturday, the Seminoles won Round 3 with the
Blue Devils and again find themselves on the precipice of a crowning
achievement.
After dispatching the Blue Devils for a second time this season, FSU (23-9) now
focuses on North Carolina (29-4), a team that FSU demolished 90-57 in January
in Tallahassee.
"We're just as confident (now) as if we lost that game," FSU guard
Michael Snaer said. "We've come a long way since then. We play with a lot
of toughness and a lot of confidence. We can't think about that game and try to
use that game to go out to win. We can't think, 'It's going to be easy' or
'We're going to beat them by 30.'
"It's North Carolina — it's not going to be that easy. We feel like it's
going to be a dogfight to the last second, like it was tonight."
FSU survived quite a dogfight on Saturday afternoon against Duke. Snaer scored
16 points and hounded Duke's Austin Rivers throughout the game. FSU forward
Bernard James had 13 points and seven rebounds, but the game came down to a
dramatic final minute.
A Rivers layup trimmed FSU's lead to 60-59 with 42 seconds left. FSU coach
Leonard Hamilton called a timeout and set up a play for senior point guard Luke
Loucks.
Loucks held the ball in the backcourt as the clock wore down, then drove before
pulling up for a long jumper over UNC's Josh Hairston — Loucks' foot was later
ruled to be on the 3-point arc -- as he gave FSU a basket that sent the
Seminoles' bench into a frenzy.
"He gave me just enough room to get off a decent shot," Loucks said.
"Fortunately for me and the team it went in."
Duke then raced down the court but Rivers missed a contested 3-pointer, and
James rebounded for FSU. After a timeout, Seminoles guard Jeff Peterson had no
option but to heave the ball to midcourt. After a mad scramble, Duke's Seth
Curry put up a shot from just short of midcourt that was on target but just hit
off the back of the rim.
"It was the longest three seconds of my life, watching that ball travel
through the air," said Loucks, who was part of the scramble for the ball.
"I thought it was going in as soon as he (Curry) released it."
So did Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. So did Curry.
"I felt like it was going in, but it went in and out," Curry said.
In a game where both teams made clutch shots, FSU made the shots early and Duke
didn’t. The Seminoles' stifling defense held the Blue Devils to just nine made
field goals and 14 turnovers by halftime. But Duke was still in the game, down just
33-31 going into the second half.
FSU went on a 10-2 run after the break, capped by Snaer's jumper for a 43-33
with 14:41 left. Duke tied it on the second of Curry's free-throw attempts with
5:03 left, and the lead changed hands a few times until Snaer's 3-pointer with
3:27 to go put FSU up 58-57.
"I thought we grew up a little bit during that stretch where the game was
in doubt," Hamilton said. "I thought the communication for the first
time this year made me feel that these guys are growing up and learning what
it's like to play in these types of games."
FSU has held off Miami and Duke on consecutive nights for this opportunity. Next
is one of the biggest games in program history, a showdown with North Carolina
for the ACC championship.
Many UNC fans stuck around after the Tar Heels’ win over NC State to see who
they would play. Most cheered openly for the Seminoles and did the warchant,
even chopping with their right arms like FSU fans have done for decades at
football and basketball games.
Hamilton likes to downplay FSU's success. These Seminoles, however, have beaten
Duke twice and UNC once, the 33-point rout in Tallahassee. There was also FSU's
seven-game winning streak in the ACC.
Hamilton makes it a postgame habit to call these two- or three-point games
typical ACC blowouts. In a sense he's right.
But the team that so often in the regular season he has called a "work in
progress," a group that is "far from a well-oiled machine," has
come a long way. And he admitted as much on Saturday.
"Earlier in the year I thought we were still learning and growing,"
Hamilton said. "But we have made significant progress."
