FSU Basketball Wins First Game Of Hall of Fame Tip-Off vs. Temple, 78-69

Three takeaways as Florida State starts the season 5-1 with a solid win over the Temple Owls

Uncasville, CT - Florida State Basketball guard Jamir Watkins handles the ball against the Temple Owls in the Naismith Hall of Fame Tip-Off / Florida State Seminoles Athletics

Florida State started the first of two games in the Naismith Hall of Fame Tip-Off against the Temple Owls, a team with a talented scorer in Jamal Mashburn Jr. To get the weekend started off right, they'd want to play their brand of basketball by forcing turnovers and converting at the free throw line.

The first half wasn't like that at ALL for the Seminoles. FSU was the one turning it over, with six turnovers in the first five minutes of the game, as Temple roared out to a 21-14 lead. Everything was going the Owls' way early, getting the benefit of the whistle and not turning the ball over.

FSU would dominate the rest of the first half behind a rare flurry from behind the arc. They were 6/10 from deep in the first half, with Jerry Deng leading the way by making two contested threes. That made up for the turnovers and the horrific 3/9 start from the free-throw lie. But they started getting after defensively, finally turning Temple over, and took a 39-33 lead into halftime.

The second half looked more like the Seminoles we know, forcing turnovers, relentlessly attacking the paint, and finally crashing the offensive glass. They only had three offensive rebounds in the first half but had five in the first four minutes of the second half. They just started to send three bodies to the paint, and if they didn't get the rebound, they often got a foul fighting for the ball.

They also got a much better start to the half from Malique Ewin, who missed some easy ones in the first half. In the first five minutes, he had eight points and four rebounds (three offensively) while shooting 4/4 from the floor.

Florida State quickly took a double-digit lead in the second half and would have a lead that large until Temple chipped the lead down to six with a little less than nine minutes to play. FSU's bench started getting sloppy with their passes, allowing Temple to get out in transition.

The Seminoles quickly pushed the lead back into double-digits following that spurt by the Owls. With 2:51 to play, Florida State was up by 12, but Temple had one more late run in them, getting the lead down to seven with 1:25 remaining. That would be as close as the got again, as the Seminoles went on to win .

Jamir Watkins led all scorers with 19 points, but Malique Ewin wasn't far behind with 15 points and nine rebounds (both career-highs). Chandler Jackson joined them in double figures with 10 points. They also forced 14 turnovers and scored 40 points in the paint.

Jamal Mashburn Jr. may have had 20 points, but he felt contained for the most part, shooting 6/15 from the floor and 1/4 from three (he was 13/21 from deep coming into this game). Temple as a whole shot just 5/21 from deep in this game, showcasing a good defensive effort by the Seminoles.

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1. Out-of-Body First Half Experience

I don't know where that shooting in the first half came from by the Seminoles, but they needed it. They had strange, unforced turnovers, were really struggling from the charity stripe, and their penchant for bad fouls was popping up again. Shooting 6/10 from three is a great way to correct some of those errors.

2. Taylor Bol Bowen is FSU's Best Shot-Blocker In Years

Having a guy like Taylor Bol Bowen patrolling on the weakside is a cheat code. He erased shots on multiple occasions in this game, but he also has enough athleticism to switch on the perimeter and control the defense that way. He's a rare defensive talent, even by Leonard Hamilton's standards.

3. This Team Is At Its Best When Malique Ewin is at His Best

Malique Ewin had a rough first half, missing some wide-open layups that he created. If "Million-Dollar Move, Ten-Cent Finish" was a person, it was Ewin in the first half. The first few minutes of the second half were what FSU needed from him: crashing the offensive glass, finishing with authority, and controlling the paint. When he's finishing around the rim, the rest of his game looks so smooth with his passing.

Florida State will play their second game in the Naismith HoF Tip-Off on Sunday against Massachusetts, who plays Temple on Saturday.

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READ MORE: NoleGameday Staff Score Predictions: Florida State Seminoles vs. Charleston Southern Buccaneers

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