No. 25 Hurricanes 57, No. 15 FSU 66: ‘To the ACC Tournament we go’

There’s two ways to look at this rollercoaster of a stretch for No. 25 Miami that culminated in a regular season finale defeat at the hands of the Florida State Seminoles.

Option #1

But, then there’s Option #2; the one I choose to abide by. What’s that, you ask?

Well, the Miami Hurricanes (20-10, 10-8 ACC) just wrapped up a season of surprise with two losses to NCAA tournament-bound teams, on the road, in hostile environments where those opponents (FSU, Virginia Tech) are a combined 33-1 on their home courts.

The sky isn’t falling, and we’ll all wake up tomorrow excited for what lies ahead. Still, getting swept at the hands of our dearest rivals is never fun.

As Florida State attempted to head into the lockers after the first half with a comfortable lead, the ‘Canes just wouldn't lay down and die. Two 3-pointers from two freshman, Bruce Brown and DJ Vasiljevic, helped the squad close the gap at the break to three, trailing 34-37.

In the first half, Miami shot 52.4% from the field, 62.5% from beyond the arc and 87.5% from the charity stripe.

The second half began, Davon Reed tied the game with a three of his own, and in my mind I’m thinking: The ‘Canes might do the damn thing and win this game in Tallahassee. Alas, I was wrong.

What followed was a putrid shooting display that spanned 10 minutes, 42 seconds to be exact. During that time, the ‘Canes missed ten of its next 11 shots from the field, before Reed knocked down another three. That, my friends, was the end of that.

The senior leader, Reed, did all he could to keep Miami in the game. He finished his final regular season game donning the green and orange with 22 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds. Quite the Davon-like game.

And, with that ... it’s tournament season. Following a first-round bye, the ‘Canes will take their talents to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center to kick off their 2017 ACC Tournament experience.

9-seed Miami v. 8-seed Syracuse. 12 p.m. Wednesday.

Get hype.

-@FialkowPunch

NOTES —

• The lineup of Ja’Quan Newton, Bruce Brown, Davon Reed, Anthony Lawrence and Kamari Murphy are now 3-3 when placed in the starting lineup together.
• Davon surpassed 20 points for the seventh time this season and the eighth time in his career. I’m going to miss Davon much. Too much.
• With a fine-but-not-good 10 point performance from Bruce Brown, the frosh has scored in double digits in nine of his last 14 contests.
• Miami is 7-6 overall against FSU in Coach L’s six seasons at Miami.