Clemson leads wire-to-wire in dominant 72-46 win over FSU Basketball

Nothing was going well for Florida State in this game.

Feb 15, 2025; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Clemson Tigers guard Chase Hunter (1) dribbles the ball as Florida State Seminoles guard DaQuan Davis (5) defends during the first half at Donald L. Tucker Center. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images / Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Florida State returned home after a wild comeback upset against Wake Forest earlier in the week, hosting a great Clemson team on Saturday. Clemson is coming off a two-game stretch where they beat Duke at home and dominated North Carolina. This would be a much different challenge for the Seminoles.

And it looked that way for the entire first half. Usually, it's Florida State's ball pressure causing turnovers, but it was the other way around in this one. FSU had 10 turnovers in the first half, leading to 14 Clemson points, while the Seminoles didn't have a single point off a turnover.

Neither team shot the ball well from the perimeter, but Clemson was able to get in the paint much more successfully. Clemson's defense is elite in help situations, especially when a team lacks confident drivers like FSU does.

At halftime, Clemson had a 36-19 lead, and it felt much worse than that. The Seminoles were shooting just 8/25 from the floor and 2/9 from three. Despite Clemson scoring that many points, FSU's defense really wasn't terrible; it was just a lot of the Tigers' defense leading to offense.

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Clemson Tigers head coach Brad Brownell during the first half against the Florida State Seminoles at Donald L. Tucker Center. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images / Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Chase Hunter didn't get in the box score until he made one free throw six minutes into the second half, and he usually kills Florida State. This time it was his brother, Dillon, killing the 'Noles.

FSU got into the bonus with 13 minutes remaining as they tried to make another comeback. But they couldn't make free throws, and the whole game could be summarized by a sequence with about 11 minutes remaining. They missed five shots on one possession, getting four offensive rebounds, including three shots from within five feet. Nothing was falling for FSU on the offensive end, and Clemson was able to extend their lead.

Once the lead got up to 20, both teams started to use the end of their bench. Clemson had shooters allowing them to extend the lead; FSU did not. That would allow the Tigers to go on to a dominant 72-46 win.

Jamir Watkins was really the only one who could find some success on offense for FSU, finishing with 14 points. He was the only Seminole in double figures.

Dillon Hunter led all scorers with 17 points for Clemson, followed by 14 for Ian Schieffelin (a career-high for him against FSU), and 10 by Chauncey Wiggins. Chase Hunter, who came into the game averaging nearly 20 points per game against FSU in his last five appearances, didn't make a field goal. If you combine that with Clemson's 8/27 performance from three, it's hard to believe FSU lost this game by as much as they did.

Florida State is back at home Wednesday against Miami, who has finally started to win some ACC games.

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