1. Miami turned the ball over 15 times in a 65 possession game. The Hurricanes entered the game as one of the top-40 teams in the nation at taking care of possessions, only turning it over just under 18% of the time. On Saturday they turned it over 23.1% of their trips. That 5% was an extra ~3 turnovers, in a four point game. In ACC play FSU turns teams over on 23.6% of their possessions, which is the best in conference.
2. With the win FSU is now 8-2 in the ACC, matching their best start since 1992-93. That season the Noles finished 2nd in the ACC with a 12-4 record. The Noles are still tied atop the ACC with North Carolina and Duke. FSU has never won the ACC (the ACC does not recognize a regular season champion), has never been the #1 seed in the ACC Tournament, and no team besides UNC or Duke has been that #1 seed since 2003 when Wake Forest finished 13-3 (and Duke ended up winning the ACC Tournament).
3. With Bernard James matched up against the relatively immobile Reggie Johnson, FSU pounded the post at every opportunity. Johnson isn’t quick enough to play in front of James, so he had to stay behind him and rely on strength alone. James struggled early, missing two straight point-blank shots to start the game and then turning the ball over on FSU’s 3rd possession. In the 2nd half FSU did a much better job freeing up James with cross screens, and James scored 15 of his 18 points after the break. He also had four blocked shots bringing his career total to 134 which is 6th all time and two behind Chris Singleton. He has an outside shot of passing Andre Reid (161) for 3rd place all-time, and will have done so in only two seasons.
4. Luke Loucks played another solid all-around game, finishing with 7 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers. In the past two games he has 10 assists, 3 steals, and no turnovers. He also moved past Al Thornton into 6th place all time in games played. If he stays healthy he’ll become FSU’s all time leader in games played in FSU’s first ACC Tournament game. He’s never missed a game in his FSU career.
5. FSU won 64-59 in a 65 possession game. The Seminoles have allowed 0.93 points per possession in conference play, better than the 0.95 allowed each of the last two seasons when FSU led the nation in defensive efficiency.
