2011-2012 Season in Review: Florida State

25-10 overall, 12-4 ACC

It was certainly an eventful year in Tallahassee.  Florida State started the year with very high expectations, looking to challenge Duke and UNC and perhaps go farther than their Sweet 16 finish the year before.  Instead, the season started out as a bit of a struggle.  Florida State played pretty poorly at a tournament in the Bahamas, scoring 41 points in a loss to Harvard and later losing to UConn.  There would be more bumps in the road in the non-conference, including a home loss to Princeton.  Two games later, Florida State went on the road at previously struggling Clemson and lost by 20.

Things looked fairly bleak then.  Florida State sat at 9-6 and 0-1 in the ACC.  Then Leonard Hamilton flipped a switch.  The Seminoles looked like a completely different team, winning the next seven games in a row and 10 out of the next 11. That included a shocking 33 point home win against North Carolina and a buzzer-beating road win at Duke.  Part of this stretch was marked by fantastic finishes and clutch shots.  Besides the win at Cameron, Florida State made up big late deficits in wins at home against Virginia Tech and on the road at Virginia.  The ACC Tournament was a dream for the Seminoles.  They captured their first ACC Tournament title, and did it by beating two top ten teams in North Carolina and Duke.  I'm not sure if they had a letdown after that or what, but they weren't the same in the NCAA Tournament, struggling to beat St. Bonaventure and then bowing out against Cincinnati.

It was a pretty balanced attack for Florida State that got it done.  They put emphasis on the defensive end, as always, but were able to show offensive firepower at times.  Michael Snaer broke out for a very good season.  He led the team in scoring, three point shooting, free throw shooting and assists.  Bernard James had a very solid year.  The elder statesman of the ACC averaged 10.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.  Luke Loucks and Deividas Dulkys had the ability to put a lot of points up in bunches at times.  It seemed like one or the other was always on.

Biggest Win:

85-82 vs. North Carolina in the ACC Tournament (March 11)

The win against North Carolina in Tallahassee was certainly an eye-opener, but this was the most significant win.  Florida State had gotten to the finals of the ACC Tournament before, but never won it.  They battled back and forth against North Carolina in this one, never quitting, and held off the Tar Heels at the end.  It was 11 three pointers compared to 5 for North Carolina that was the biggest difference in earning the Seminoles their first ACC Tournament title.

Worst Loss:

64-60 at Boston College (February 8)

This was the most bizarre result of the ACC season.  Florida State was coming in having won seven straight games against the worst team in the league.  And they somehow lost.  Boston College actually controlled much of this game.  This is just one you laugh off and move past.  And Florida State did, winning their next three.

Postseason Play:

As I said before, the ACC Tournament was a great success.  Florida State opened with a relatively easy win over Miami.  They followed it up with a strange win over Duke that the Seminoles almost gave away at the very end. And then the title game win over North Carolina.  The NCAA Tournament was a different story.  Florida State came in as a 3 seed, and really struggled in their first game against #14 St. Bonaventure.  They were actually losing most of the game, took the lead late, then had to withstand a couple last second shots to advance.  Their game against Cincinnati was much of the same, except they weren't able to come out on top, falling 62-56.

Next Year:

Florida State loses as much of their team as any in the ACC this year.  Dulkys, Loucks, James, Xavier Gibson, Jon Kreft and Jeff Peterson are all seniors and graduating.  The only remaining starter will be Snaer.  He will definitely be the team leader.  He should form a pretty good backcourt with Ian Miller, who showed some poise and shooting ability toward the end of the year.  Okaro White will have to step up and provide some inside scoring next year.  The Seminoles bring in a couple good recruits.  But you have to expect they are going to take a step down next year.  I don't think they fall far, but they could struggle to finish in the top 4 of the conference.