FSU upended by Miami

Florida State went into halftime Sunday in Coral Gables within striking distance of an upset of the No. 25 Miami Hurricanes.

Leonard Hamilton's Seminoles fell to 3-3 in conference play.

But a disconcerting Miami run at the end of the first half continued well into the second, and the streaking Hurricanes showed no signs of cooling down with a 71-47 victory over the Seminoles.

"This is a better basketball team right now,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said of UM. “They are older, more mature, and they execute very well. I felt like we had too many parts in the game where we didn't execute well enough."

The Seminoles (11-8, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) had hoped that last week's dramatic win over Clemson would spark them to a victory over a Miami team that has been one nation's hottest in recent weeks.

Instead, Miami (15-3, 6-0 ACC) took advantage of its distinct experience advantage, using strong efforts from a trio of seniors to send FSU to its third loss in four games. The Hurricanes got double-digit efforts from seniors Trey McKinney Jones (game-high 15 points), Durand Scott (11) and Kenny Kadji (11).

"This was a team that played an extremely mature game,” Hamilton said.

FSU, meanwhile, struggled to get much going from its consistent producers. Senior guard Michael Snaer, whose dramatic, buzzer-beating 3-pointer lifted FSU to its win over Clemson last week, scored just four points. And forward Okaro White added just six.

Ian Miller led FSU with 12 points off the bench, an encouraging sign for the junior forward who has been contending with a foot injury for much of the season.

The Seminoles will return home Wednesday for a second round with Maryland, then host No. 1 Duke on Saturday.

“Thank goodness we have 12 more games to go,” Hamilton said. I think this team, we are getting closer. I can say that. Even in defeat, I think we are still learning and still growing. Now we just have to come back home and serve notice."

Box Score: Miami 71, Florida State 47