FSU Basketball Picks Up Impressive Win Over Hofstra, 79-61

Three takeaways from a good win at home for the Seminoles

Austin Veazey | 2 Hours Ago

Tallahassee, FL - Florida State Basketball forward Jamir Watkins brings the ball upcourt against Hofstra Pride / Florida State Seminoles Athletics

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Florida State was coming off a loss to the Florida Gators on Friday and didn't get any favors with their scheduling, playing the Hofstra Pride right after, one of the better mid-major teams in college basketball.

Hofstra got off to a 4-0 start this season, beating Seton Hall and UMass in their last two games, and entered the Tucker Center with a lot of confidence.

But it would be Florida State who got off to the early 8-0 lead, using elite defense to create some separation. Hofstra responded with a 6-0 to get back in the game and eventually tied it at 14 with nine minutes to go in the half. To say the offenses weren't flowing early... it was a brutal watch for a little bit.

The Seminoles would outscore the Pride 18-9 for the rest of the half, using a Daquan Davis kick-out for a Jamir Watkins three as the seconds ticked away to end the half. Watkins only attempted five shots in the first half, but it was the defense really setting the tone, holding Hofstra's elite guard trio down as well as could be asked. Hofstra shot just 9/26 (34.6%) from the floor and 2/14 from three (14.3%) with nine turnovers entering halftime.

Hofstra started the second half with guns blazing, scoring 14 points in the first four minutes of the half to cut FSU's lead to two.

But the Seminoles responded to that with a 12-2 run to extend the lead up to 12. The bench brought some energy, and Malique Ewin started taking over the game. He dealt with foul trouble in the first half but was dominant when he was in, using elite footwork and passing to open up the offense for everybody else.

Florida State started hitting some timely threes to keep Hofstra at arm's length, and they'd go on to win 79-61 behind Jamir Watkins' 17 points, Taylor Bol Bowen's 10, and Malique Ewin's 13. This was a good win over a good Hofstra team, a great way to respond following the loss to Florida.

Here are three takeaways from this game.

1. Florida State Finally Made Some Threes

Hofstra has one of the nation's best interior defenses, so Florida State needed to be able to make some threes. They did just that, making a season-high nine three-pointers. I don't love how many attempts it took, as they shot 26 of them to shoot 35% from three, but at least they've shown the ability to make them. Just take this and improve upon it.

2. Malique Ewin Is a Rare Talent

Malique Ewin didn't have the best start to the season, struggling to finish inside, but you could see the rare movement and footwork skills he brought. That was on full display on Tuesday night, as he finished with 13 points and six rebounds. As he gets more comfortable playing through contact, he's going to be a handful down low with how special his footwork is.

3. The Defense Didn't Foul, Look at the Result

The biggest hole in Florida State's tough defense was their penchant for fouling. Through four games, FSU was averaging 21 fouls per game and allowing their opponents to have a free-throw rate of 47.7%. Those marks were both much better in this game, fouling just 14 times and allowing Hofstra to shoot seven free throws for a free-throw rate of 14%. When the defense can play the way they want to, they are hard to score on, and that was shown here, with Hofstra shooting 48% from the floor, 33.3% from three, and turning it over 20 times.

Florida State travels to Connecticut to play Temple as part of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off at the Mohegan Sun on Friday.

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