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You could look at Florida State‘s 9-9 record in the ACC this college basketball season and think, well, that’s not that bad, given the presence of teams like Syracuse, North Carolina, Duke and Virginia. But given the Seminoles’ usual ability to compete in the league, and even win it, a .500 record in the conference for the Seminoles has to rank as a disappointment. It gets even worse when you look at how Florida State compiled that record. The Seminoles were just 2-7 against the six teams which finished ahead of them in the ACC race. Florida State went 6-1 against the bottom six teams and even the only loss was to rival Miami.
Only a deep run in the NIT allowed Florida State to put together a decent overall record, as the Seminoles finished 22-14. But that doesn’t mask the fact that this year probably wasn’t what Seminoles fans were expecting. Here’s an evaluation of the 2013-14 Seminoles on both sides of the ball, as well as overall.
OFFENSE: Florida State was an odd duck offensively this season. The Seminoles had an impressive field-goal percentage of 46.5, good enough for 65th in the country. Despite that, Florida State scored only 70.4 points per game, which was 200th in the nation. That indicates that Florida State was wasteful with possessions, committing turnovers and such that cost them shooting opportunities. FSU was also 299th in the nation in average assists per game, another sign of a lack of offensive effectiveness. For the season, Florida State had just 385 assists against 512 turnovers. Aaron Thomas, Ian Miller and Okaro White each scored in double figures per game, but Florida State got up just 52 shots per game, which in this era of basketball is a small number. GRADE: D.
DEFENSE: As much as Florida State gave the ball away offensively, the Seminoles’ defense was enough to keep them in games and create havoc. Florida State averaged 11.4 blocks-plus-steals per game, an impressive number. The Seminoles allowed just 66.4 PPG, good enough for 75th in the nation. The 5.4 blocks per game were 26th in the country. In most of Florida State’s key games, however, the defense wasn’t as effective as it needed to be. The Seminoles gave up 78 to light-scoring Virginia, 81 to North Carolina and 83 to Maryland, all losses. The group was good, but not good enough to make up for the ineffective offense. GRADE: C.
OVERALL: A top-four finish in the ACC would have been too much to ask for Florida State going into the season. But a program with a history of big upsets and consistent, competitive play underwhelmed in 2013-14. There’s no other way to say it. GRADE: C-.
Twitter-Style, the 2013-14 Seminoles in 140 (or less): “A mediocre season that no one will remember thanks to football. #WeMissCharlieWard”
Ed Morgans is an ACC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @writered21 and add him to your network on Google.
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