Notre Dame falls hard to Florida State
Just as expected, it was raining 3-pointers Sunday night in the United Center in the third round showdown between Notre Dame and Florida State.
And that was pretty much what all the experts had predicted heading into a game between teams with polar-opposite styles.
The theory was the Irish would come in and try to tame the Seminoles’ top-ranked field-goal defense (36.2 percent) by using their prowess from beyond the arc (39 percent).
Well, someone forgot to send FSU the memo.
Instead, it was the Seminoles (23-10), who came out guns a-blazin’ from long range, going 7-for-12 from beyond the arc in the first half on their way to a 71-57 romp.
Meanwhile, the frustrated Irish were sniping — and just not at the basket — as they finished 1-for-10 from 3-point land to trail by double-digits at the half.
“Coach (Leonard Hamilton) told us before we went out that, if we get a big enough lead, they’re the type of team that they don’t play well coming from behind,” senior guard Derwin Kitchen said. “We could hear them out there: They were arguing with each other.
“We kept our momentum going, and they were just falling apart. They were arguing with each other and everything.”
Added guard Michael Snaer: “We knew we were frustrating them. I heard the refs tell (Ben) Hansbrough, ‘You say one more thing and it’s a tech.’ We said we knew we were getting into them a little bit.”
Indeed it was.
“The combination of their defense and their seven 3-pointers in the first half put us on our heels,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “We were digging out of a hole.”
And it never really got any better for No. 2 seed Notre Dame (27-7), which struggled all night to get in sync offensively.
Meanwhile the 10th-seeded Seminoles did more than enough on both ends of the floor to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
“It seems like the first 30 minutes of the game we couldn’t make anything,” said Irish forward Tim Abromaitis, who led all scorers with 21 points.” It was just one of those nights where the shots didn’t go down.”
The most boisterous the highly partisan Notre Dame crowd got came after a non-call on FSU on a play in which Irish guard Scott Martin went crashing to the floor on a layup attempt.
The fans let the officiating crew have it on its way to the tunnel at halftime, and revved it up again when the crew returned to the court for the second half.
At one point late in the second half the Irish was just 2 of 17 from 3-point land but despite that still had the slightest glimmer of hope.
A Ben Hansbrough 3-pointer and a subsequent technical foul on Michael Snaer made it 52-40. Hansbrough finished with 18 points before fouling out with 3:19 left.
But it wasn’t to be. So Florida State will take on a red-hot VCU team in a Southwest regional semifinal Friday at San Antonio. The 11th-seeded Rams steamrollered No. 3 Purdue 94-76 in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader at the United Center.
“VCU can beat any team in the country on a neutral court, and I believe that,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “They have a great coach, they play hard … they’re a championship-caliber team. I know it’s tough for some people to maybe understand that, but I think you just saw a glimpse of team that can make an even deeper run in the NCAA Tournament.”