Florida State Takes Down Pittsburgh on the Road, 71-64

Another nice win on the road for Leonard Hamilton and his crew.

It didn’t start off pretty, feeling like every other game has ever played at Pitt. It was 15-5 just a little over five minutes into the game as Pitt was 6/9 to start out and it was all wide-open layups and 3s, looking like yet another FSU disappointment defensively. Then something changed and adjustments were made.

Over the next five minutes, Florida State went on a 20-2 run, fueled by four made 3s by Caleb Mills, Darin Green Jr, and Chandler Jackson. All of a sudden, FSU was up 25-17 and would eventually take a 10 point; 39-29 lead into halftime. I, like many others, were shocked. The Oakland Zoo is a tough place to play, and here FSU was responding to being punched in the mouth early. 

In the second half, Pitt was hot once again, starting the half on a 21-6 run to get the lead right back, being ahead 50-45. This was starting to feel like the Florida game, where FSU had an amazing first half, but couldn’t stop the bleeding in the second half. But once again, they responded. FSU outscored Pitt 26-14 the rest of the way led by clutch shots by Darin Green Jr, and FSU came away with just their third-ever win at Pittsburgh, winning 71-64. 

For all the flaws, faults, and failures this team has had this season, this was a really impressive win. Trent Forrest never won at Pitt, and neither did Terance Mann. Two straight road wins at Notre Dame and Pittsburgh is a big achievement and building block. 

Darin Green Jr was electric in this game. 24 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 5/8 three-point shooting, and 5/5 from the free throw line. One of my keys for this game was making the 3s Pitt gives you, and FSU as a team responded by going 10/20, but Green in particular really stepped up. When he’s rolling like this, he’s one of the best shooters in the country, and giving validation to my claim of him being the best shooter Coach Hamilton has ever had.

Matthew Cleveland’s double-double streak comes up just short and ends at 8 games, but he finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds. His development from the midrange has been a revelation for this offense, as they can use his turnaround fade as a late shot-clock weapon. 

Caleb Mills was giving this team plenty of life in the first half, and he’d finish with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, a block, and a steal. He’s much more comfortable as a 2 than when he was playing point guard early in the year. 

This was Chandler Jackson’s best game of the season. 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and most importantly, no turnovers in just 7 minutes. I wish they’d play him more, he’s getting more and more comfortable as the season goes along. They even played him alongside Warley, which I really like. Gives the team much-needed ball handling. He was a +13 in those 7 minutes. Play him!!

Baba Miller was a team-high +18 in just 13 minutes, adding on 5 points and 3 rebounds. He looked more comfortable than he’d been in the last few games as well. 

FSU strictly won this game from the 3-point line. They lost the rebounding battle by 2, the turnover battle by 1, and had a lower free throw percentage (though both teams made the same amount of free throws), but shooting 50% from distance while holding your opponent to 25% is a great way to win a game. 

Jamarius Burton was keeping Pitt in this game with his 20 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds. His biggest issue was the three turnovers. Blake Hinson was solid as well with 16 points and 9 rebounds, but he also had 3 turnovers and fouled out. 

No one else was in double figures for Pitt, and FSU really took advantage of the minutes against Nike Sibande who was a -22 in just 14 minutes. 

Next up for FSU, their 9-game winning streak against Miami will be on the line Tuesday night in Tallahassee at 7 pm.