Florida State forced Virginia to play FSU’s game – a faster tempo that was a factor in 14 UVA turnovers, its bigs sagging to take away UVA’s post looks, leading to lots of late-shot-clock threes.
The one thing the ‘Noles couldn’t do: make shots.
The ‘Hoos held Florida State to 29 percent shooting, including 6-of-33 shooting from three, and got a game-changing second half from Jacari White, who had 19 points off the bench, 17 in the second half, to escape Tallahassee with a 61-58 win on Tuesday night.
ICYMI
I warned you before this one – FSU (11-13, 4-7 ACC) was going to be trouble.
The Seminoles had won four of its last five coming in – with a win at Miami, which is an NCAA Tournament team this year, and a three-point loss at SMU, also an NCAA team this year, in that stretch.
FSU led this one most of the way, and seemed to be poised to finish off an upset after a 9-0 run over a 3:50 stretch of the second half put the ‘Noles up 54-45 with 8:22 to go, on a pair of free throws from Robert McCray, who finished with 20 points (6-of-16 FG, 2-of-6 3FG, 6-of-7 FT).
It was 57-50 at the 6:33 mark on the strength of a three from Lajae Jones, who had 21 points (6-of-15 FG, 4-of-9 3FG, 5-of-8 FT).
That would turn out to be the final make from the floor for Florida State on the night.
The ‘Noles missed their final 11 shots, getting just a single point in the final 6:33, on a free throw from McCray with 4:54 to go.
Virginia got back into it because of White.
White scored or assisted on 14 of UVA’s final 16 points, igniting the rally from nine down with a three and a jumper in the lane, then a dish to Ugonna Onyenso for a dunk, another three, an assist to Thijs de Ridder that got the margin to one with 2:58 to go, then a dunk on a fast break that put Virginia on top for the first time since the opening minutes at the 1:12 mark.
McCray missed a wild runner in the lane with 50 seconds left, and Virginia got its lead to three with 25 ticks remaining on a short jumper from de Ridder, who finished with nine points and nine rebounds.
FSU had two chances to tie the game in the final seconds, but had misses from three from Jones and McCray.
Player notes
- Jacari White had struggled since returning from surgery on his left wrist that had forced him to miss five games, averaging 3.8 points per game over his last seven, on 30 percent shooting (9-of-30 FG). Tonight, he was the guy who had double-digits in seven of the first 11 games of the season, getting his 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, 5-of-9 from three, in 21 minutes off the bench.
- Johann Grunloh scored Virginia’s first five points, on a three and a follow-up dunk, and that was it – he finished with five points and two boards in 15 minutes. Backup center Ugonna Onyenso, for the second straight game, got the bulk of the minutes at the five spot – 24 of them, with four points (2-of-3 FG), seven rebounds, three blocked shots and a steal, and a team-best plus/minus at +13.
- You either get the good Malik Thomas (23 points in the win at SMU last month) or the other one (eight single-digit games this season, four with four points or less). Tonight, we got the other Malik Thomas: three points (1-of-7 FG, 1-of-6 3FG), five rebounds, one assist, three turnovers, 19 minutes.
- Since being named the ACC Player of the Week on Feb. 2, Thijs de Ridder has averaged 9.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, on 29.6 percent shooting. Tonight: nine points (3-of-9 FG, 0-of-2 3FG, 3-of-4 FT) and nine rebounds in 28 minutes.
Team Notes
Shooting zones
At the Rim
UVA: 8-of-16
FSU: 9-of-18
Paint
UVA: 13-of-26
FSU: 12-of-27
Midrange
UVA: 0-of-2
FSU: 0-of-2
Three
UVA: 10-of-33
FSU: 6-of-33
Free Throws
UVA: 5-of-8
FSU: 16-of-22
Rebounding
Offense: 31.6 percent (12-of-38); season coming in: 40.2 percent
Defense: 76.1 percent (35-of-46); season coming in: 70.8 percent
Odom Ball Stats
Points off turnovers: UVA -3 (FSU 12-9)
Second-chance points: UVA +7 (UVA 16-9)
Points off threes: UVA +12 (UVA 30-18)
Free throws: UVA -11 (FSU 16-5)
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Chris Graham
