Florida State University Athletics
Wednesday, March 13
12 Noon
Florida State
17-15,10-10ACC
86
vs
76
Virginia Tech
18-14,10-10ACC
1
2
F
Florida St.
36
50
86
Virginia Tech
37
39
76
Watkins' 34 Points Lead Seminoles Over Virginia Tech In ACC Tournament
3/13/2024 4:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Florida State's Jamir Watkins scored a career-high and Seminoles' record in an ACC Tournament game 34 points to lead Florida State to an 86-76 victory over Virginia Tech in the second round of the ACC Tournament at the Capital One Arena. The Seminoles will play No. 1 seed and No. 4 ranked North Carolina in the quarterfinals of the Tournament on Thursday at 12 Noon.
Watkins' 34 points is the most in an ACC Tournament game in school history. He is the second player in school to score 30 points or more in an ACC games. Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 30 points against Miami on March 11, 2015, in a 76-73 win in the 2015 ACC Tournament.
Watkins' 34 points is the most by a Florida State player since Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 35 against Miami on February 25, 2015.
While scoring his 34 points, Watkins surpassed the 1,000-point career mark on a first half jump shot.
Watkins scored in every way possible – he was nine of 15 from the field, two of four from the 3-point line and made a career-high 14 of 17 free throws in leading the Seminoles. He also tied his career-high with 11 rebounds as he totaled his second consecutive, his sixth double-double of the season and seventh of his career in leading the Seminoles. He also totaled four steals – the second consecutive and third time in the last four games he has earned four steals.
In a game that saw six ties and eight lead changes, Florida State took the lead for the final time on a jumper from the paint by Primo Spears to give the Seminoles a 59-58 lead with 6:38 left to play. From there, the Seminoles outscored the Hokies by a 27-18 margin. Florida State was 25 of 28 from the free throw line in the second half and totaled 25 of its 50 points after intermission from the free throw line. The Seminoles made 25 or 30 free throw shots and outscored the Hokies by a 25-18 margin from the line during the game.
Also in double figure scoring for the Seminoles were junior Jalen Warley with 18 points and Spears with 10.
"Virginia Tech, they've always been an extremely talented team because they execute so well," said Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton. "They have a great combination of basketball savvy players, but they have the ability to shoot the ball well from the perimeter. They amaze you with their ability to take the ball to the basket and finish. They challenged us from a defensive standpoint on all levels."
Florida State challenged Virginia Tech defensively throughout the game. The Seminoles outrebounded the Hokies by a 34-25 margin (after being outrebounded in both regular season games), totaled 10 steals, blocked three shots, and limited the Hokies to a .357 field goal shooting percentage in the second half.
The Seminoles won the points off turnover margin (25-9), the points in the paint (48-32), second chance points (13-10) and fast break points battles (18-24).
"That's what they've done in his time (Coach Hamilton) at Florida State. They're really good and very disruptive. It's uncomfortable.
"I thought we had some very good shots that we got down in the first half. Consequently, we go in at the half up one. I thought we had some very good shots in the second half, but we weren't shooting the ball -- Hunter had a couple of great ones, and he's been terrific throughout his career. Just didn't have his best stuff."
Warley scored 10 of his 18 points in the second half. He made eight of 10 field goals (he was a perfect four of four in the first half for eight points). He also handled the ball well with four assists and two steals in 25 minutes of playing time.
Spears scored eight of his 10 points in the second half. He also added two assists and two steals.
Senior Jaylan Gainey totaled four important points (all in the first half) and Florida State rallied from an eight-point first half deficit to only trail by one, 37-36, at halftime.
"In the first half, they (Virginia Tech) were blowing by us like the wind," said Hamilton. "The second half I thought we did a much better job containing the dribble and getting our hands up and contesting shots. That's normally a pretty good formula. I thought we got some offensive rebounds and got some put-backs, too, that helped us a little bit on the other end."
Watkins' 34 points is the most in an ACC Tournament game in school history. He is the second player in school to score 30 points or more in an ACC games. Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 30 points against Miami on March 11, 2015, in a 76-73 win in the 2015 ACC Tournament.
Watkins' 34 points is the most by a Florida State player since Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 35 against Miami on February 25, 2015.
While scoring his 34 points, Watkins surpassed the 1,000-point career mark on a first half jump shot.
Watkins scored in every way possible – he was nine of 15 from the field, two of four from the 3-point line and made a career-high 14 of 17 free throws in leading the Seminoles. He also tied his career-high with 11 rebounds as he totaled his second consecutive, his sixth double-double of the season and seventh of his career in leading the Seminoles. He also totaled four steals – the second consecutive and third time in the last four games he has earned four steals.
In a game that saw six ties and eight lead changes, Florida State took the lead for the final time on a jumper from the paint by Primo Spears to give the Seminoles a 59-58 lead with 6:38 left to play. From there, the Seminoles outscored the Hokies by a 27-18 margin. Florida State was 25 of 28 from the free throw line in the second half and totaled 25 of its 50 points after intermission from the free throw line. The Seminoles made 25 or 30 free throw shots and outscored the Hokies by a 25-18 margin from the line during the game.
Also in double figure scoring for the Seminoles were junior Jalen Warley with 18 points and Spears with 10.
"Virginia Tech, they've always been an extremely talented team because they execute so well," said Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton. "They have a great combination of basketball savvy players, but they have the ability to shoot the ball well from the perimeter. They amaze you with their ability to take the ball to the basket and finish. They challenged us from a defensive standpoint on all levels."
Florida State challenged Virginia Tech defensively throughout the game. The Seminoles outrebounded the Hokies by a 34-25 margin (after being outrebounded in both regular season games), totaled 10 steals, blocked three shots, and limited the Hokies to a .357 field goal shooting percentage in the second half.
The Seminoles won the points off turnover margin (25-9), the points in the paint (48-32), second chance points (13-10) and fast break points battles (18-24).
"That's what they've done in his time (Coach Hamilton) at Florida State. They're really good and very disruptive. It's uncomfortable.
"I thought we had some very good shots that we got down in the first half. Consequently, we go in at the half up one. I thought we had some very good shots in the second half, but we weren't shooting the ball -- Hunter had a couple of great ones, and he's been terrific throughout his career. Just didn't have his best stuff."
Warley scored 10 of his 18 points in the second half. He made eight of 10 field goals (he was a perfect four of four in the first half for eight points). He also handled the ball well with four assists and two steals in 25 minutes of playing time.
Spears scored eight of his 10 points in the second half. He also added two assists and two steals.
Senior Jaylan Gainey totaled four important points (all in the first half) and Florida State rallied from an eight-point first half deficit to only trail by one, 37-36, at halftime.
"In the first half, they (Virginia Tech) were blowing by us like the wind," said Hamilton. "The second half I thought we did a much better job containing the dribble and getting our hands up and contesting shots. That's normally a pretty good formula. I thought we got some offensive rebounds and got some put-backs, too, that helped us a little bit on the other end."
Team Stats
FSU
VT
FG%
.537
.491
3FG%
.231
.250
FT%
.833
.750
RB
34
25
TO
10
13
STL
10
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
34
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
14
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's BasketballForward
/ Men's BasketballBehind the Mic | FSU Football with Jeff Culhane | Kent State
Friday, September 19
FSU Football | Game Day Live Pregame Show: Kent State
Friday, September 19
WR Jayvan Boggs: "He works like a pro"
Wednesday, September 17
DL Mandrell Desir: "He's that guy"
Wednesday, September 17