Florida State offense kicks into high gear with 90-83 win over N.C. State

N.C. State men’s basketball coach Kevin Keatts asked his players to focus on two key areas when going over their defensive scouting report for Tuesday night’s game at Florida State: Slow the Seminoles down in transition, and keep them from getting too many good looks in the paint.

He wanted FSU to get bogged down in a half-court game, and he was hoping to force the Seminoles to shoot as much as possible from the perimeter.

It would have been a sound strategy had it worked. But the Wolfpack accomplished neither goal.

Not only did FSU’s players repeatedly beat their defenders down the court for baskets on the break, but the Seminoles scored nearly half of their points in the paint. That combination — along with some excellent ball movement, crisp passing and even some quality perimeter shooting — paved the way for a 90-83 Florida State victory.

It marked the second-most points N.C. State has given up all season, and the Seminoles’ 59.7 shooting percentage was the best of any Wolfpack opponent this year.

“I didn’t think our defense traveled tonight,” Keatts said. “We’ve been pretty dog-gone good defensively. Really getting after people. When you look at the box score, 83 points is enough to win any game in this league. Unfortunately, we gave up 90.”

With the win, Florida State improves to 15-13 overall and 9-8 in the ACC, while N.C. State falls to 17-11 and 9-8. And the Seminoles did it with an incredibly balanced offensive attack.

Eight different Florida State players scored at least seven points, and 11 Seminoles scored in all. N.C. State, meanwhile, got all of its points from five players.

FSU also racked up 16 assists with 11 turnovers. The ‘Noles came into Tuesday’s game averaging only 11.4 assists in ACC play, and the total of 16 was their highest output since recording 17 in a win at Miami in mid-January.

“That’s a little bit better than what we’ve been doing as of late,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said, adding that he has seen signs of progress in recent practices. “I thought our execution was a little better and people are accepting their roles a little better. Realizing that we need to come together and execute the game plan. That was kind of the sense I got from the whole team this week. They were really, really locked in to wanting to win this game.”

Junior wing Jamir Watkins again led Florida State offensively. He scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and he also grabbed three rebounds and delivered two assists.

Watkins, who averaged 9.5 points last season at VCU, has scored in double-figures in 14 straight games and 22 of 27 as a Seminole.

“He’s unorthodox. He’s a jack of all trades,” Keatts said, when asked why Watkins is so difficult to defend. “He’s a rebounding guy. He’ll raise up and make a 3 every now and then. He’s really good in transition. He’s good at offensive rebounding. He knows how to score around the basket. I don’t think he does anything great, which I think really makes you a good player, because he does a little bit of everything.”

Florida State also got 14 points and six assists from backup point guard Primo Spears, 11 points from Cam Corhen, and 8 points and 7 rebounds from Baba Miller.

The Seminoles outscored the Wolfpack in fast-break points, 18-9, and they claimed a 46-36 advantage in points in the paint. FSU also shot 79 percent from the free-throw line (11-of-14), and four different players connected on at least one 3-pointer.

But it all started, according to Hamilton, with the Seminoles’ transition offense. He didn’t love everything about his team’s defensive performance on Tuesday — they gave up 83 points and allowed the Wolfpack to shoot 48 percent from the field — but when they did get stops, the ‘Noles were off and running.

“I thought that made a big difference in the game,” Hamilton said. “We didn’t have to set up in the half-court as much because we were able to get out and run. And I thought our guys made pretty good decisions once we got out in transition.”

FSU returns to action Saturday at Georgia Tech.

BOX SCORE: FSU 90, N.C. State 83

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