FSU Basketball, Missing Three Starters, Controls Tulane 77-64 in Orange Bowl Classic

It wasn't always pretty, but Florida State came away with a much-needed win in the Orange Bowl Classic

The Florida State Seminoles host the Hofstra Pride for a men’s basketball game at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. / Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Florida State had a week off after two straight losses to LSU and NC State, and it was a needed break to regroup and find some confidence again. They returned to action on Saturday to play a poor Tulane team, but the Seminoles would be down three starters.

It was never announced, but Chandler Jackson, Taylor Bol Bowen, Bostyn Holt, and Alier Maluk would all sit out the game for an unknown reason.

Despite missing those players, FSU never struggled in this game. Tulane took an early 6-0 lead as the 'Noles struggled to get the lid off the basket, but they responded to that with a 21-2 run to take control of the game. From then on, the game would never get back into single digits.

Malique Ewin and Jamir Watkins set the pace early, scoring FSU's first 19 points. That allowed everyone else to ease into the game, but the defense wasn't allowing anything. Tulane shot just 28.2% from the floor in the first half as FSU took a 37-22 lead into halftime.

Tulane showed some fight in the second half after FSU built the lead to 19, as the Green Wave got it down to 13 or 14 a few different times, then eventually down to 12 with about 7:30 remaining. Tulane would get it down to 11 with four minutes to go after Malique Ewin fouled out for the second game in a row.

FSU dried up from the floor, going over five minutes without making a field goal, but they were still getting to the free throw line at will. Tulane would get the lead down to 10 a few times in the final few minutes.

The Seminoles would go on to win 77-64, led by Jamir Watkins (29 points, five assists, four rebounds), Jerry Deng (13 points, 3/5 from three), Justin Thomas (10 points), and Malique Ewin (10 points, eight rebounds). Kaleb Banks was dynamite for Tulane, finishing with 31 points, This was a free-throw-heavy game, with 60 total attempts between the two teams, luckily, FSU was making them this time.

Florida State returns home to play Winthrop on Tuesday.

Here are three takeaways from FSU's win in the Orange Bowl Classic.

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1. This Showcased The Team's Depth

Florida State was without four key rotation players, including three starters, for whatever reason. And FSU still never batted an eye. They controlled this game after the first few minutes, and even if Jamir Watkins and Malique Ewin were the biggest reason for that early, the depth is still good enough to win games.

2. Back-to-Back Strong Free-Throw Performances

Florida State struggled from the free-throw line to start the season, shooting 66.7% through the first nine games of the season, and a lot of that was due to Jamir Watkins' rare shooting slump from the stripe. Over their last two games, FSU is 54/64 (84.4%) from the free-throw line, with Jamir Watkins being 35/40 in those games. It's too soon to know if this is a rare hot streak, but given how often this team is getting to the line this season (top 25 nationally in free throw rate),

3. Malique Ewin Fouls Out Again

In a game where Florida State was already lacking depth, Malique Ewin fouled out with more than five minutes to go, making it the second straight game he's fouled out. He's averaging three fouls per game, and he has to be smarter. The drop-off at center when he isn't out there is significant, and he's arguably Florida State's best player with how he can control the paint.

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