CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Early on, it looked like Florida State might get their first win in Chestnut Hill. But reverting to prior form changed that.
The Seminoles ran out to a 16-4 lead early on, and the Eagles couldn’t get started offensively. But after that lead, the Seminoles started turning the ball over, and slowly but surely the Eagles took advantage. BC would eventually take a 24-22 lead off a turnover, but a late three-pointer gave the Seminoles 25-24 at the half.
The key stats then, as would be the case at the end of the game, were Florida State’s 12 turnovers and Boston College getting 11 points off them. By the end of the game, the Eagles had 24 points off 18 Florida State turnovers. More than that, though, the turnovers had some collateral damage.
“Once we turned the ball over in that period, I thought we got very passive and stopped attacking and gave them opportunities to go on a big run,” said head coach Leonard Hamilton. “I thought we were very fortunate to be ahead at halftime.”
In the two prior games, the Seminoles had a combined 19 turnovers. They won both, including a road win at Virginia Tech. They came into the game giving the ball away 15.6 times per game this season and with 95 more turnovers than assists, in part reflecting this team’s relative inexperience.
With those turnovers, the Seminoles needed to be more efficient offensively, and that didn’t happen. They shot 38.6 percent from the field, and leading the way in that regard were Toney Douglas and Solomon Alabi, who shot a combined 9-29 from the field. Thanks to a 12-12 effort at the foul line, the two combined for 35 points, but the lack of shot efficiency made the turnovers hurt even more.
“If you don’t take care of the ball and you’re not strong with it, they’ll deflect it right out of your hands,” Hamilton said. “To their credit, they were a little more effective with their defensive scheme than we were taking care of the ball.”
The Seminoles still appear to be in good shape for an NCAA Tournament bid. They are 21-7 overall and 8-5 in the ACC, with wins over Florida and Clemson (road). They played Duke and Pittsburgh tough before succumbing, and wins over California and Cincinnati aren’t bad, either. But given the near-misses during Hamilton’s tenure, one can figure the Seminoles will take nothing for granted.
