No. 8 FSU basketball wears out, sprints past rival Miami, 99-81
The No. 8 Florida State men's basketball team didn't need any late-game heroics this time.
In fact, the Seminoles didn't really need any heroics at all.
With 13 players scoring and 11 playing at least nine minutes, FSU opened a double-digit lead midway through the second half and cruised to a 99-81 victory Saturday against rival Miami.
The win, which came just three weeks after the Seminoles needed a furious rally to knock off the Hurricanes in Coral Gables, improved Florida State's record to 20-3 overall and 10-2 in the ACC. Miami falls to 11-12 and 3-10
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Box score: No. 8 FSU 99, Miami 81
Miami jumped out to an early lead, but the Seminoles started to surge ahead late in the first half behind the hot scoring of guards M.J. Walker and Wyatt Wilkes. Walker scored 12 in the first period and Wilkes came off the bench to score 11 as FSU took a 50-47 lead into the break.
The Seminoles didn't play their trademark stifling defense in the first half, allowing Miami to connect on nearly 52 percent of its shots from the field. But FSU shot 58 percent in the first half and then began to turn up the defensive intensity in the second period.
UM shot just 30.3 percent in the second half, and the Seminoles' depth seemed to wear on them as the game progressed. The Hurricanes rotated just seven players for most of the game, while the 'Noles rotated players early and often.
FSU stars Trent Forrest and Devin Vassell played only 23 and 24 minutes, respectively.
Florida State was led offensively by Walker and freshman Patrick Williams with 14 points apiece, Vassell had 13, Wilkes scored 11 and Forrest had 10..
FSU is 10-2 in ACC play for just the second time in school history; the other time was in 2011-12. The Seminoles also have won 61 of their last 64 home games, and last 13 straight ACC home games.
The 'Noles have now won five straight games against the Hurricanes.
Next up for the Seminoles is a huge showdown with No. 7 Duke on Monday at 7 p.m. in Durham, N.C.