By Bill from Tampa
Florida State (22-12) scored 34 points off some of Michigan's turnovers - the difference in the game. "It's a formula for disaster, especially on the road," Michigan Coach Tommy Amaker said. "Their quickness, their speed gave us a lot of problems."
On the 20-7 run in the first half, "That was really a big turning point," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. "That little period there was what made the difference."
"I thought all the players that played really showed a good focus,'' FSU Coach Leonard Hamilton said. "We didn't have the mental errors that we are accustomed to having.''
"We were moving the ball ... getting great shots," Swann said. When we do that we make a high percentage."
"That shows you what we're capable of," Swann said. "We've just got to keep it up."
"We were unselfish, everyone shared the ball ... we just played together," said Douglas, who had three assists and just one turnover. "And that's what we need to do to be successful. If we do that every night, no one's going to beat us I don't think."
“It seemed like everything was going real good,” Douglas said.
“I thought that tonight was the first time that we've been that efficient, making the extra pass and reading each other,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said.
"The penetrating and pitching, making the extra pass made the difference in the quality of shots we got," coach Leonard Hamilton said. "We've always been a good shooting team, especially when we get good looks."
"I like what I see developing," Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said.
Said Douglas: "Every time we win, we share the ball."
''We just want to win this thing and show everybody that we should have been in the [NCAA] Tournament,'' said junior shooting guard Isaiah Swann, who tied for the team high with 15 points and led the Seminoles (22-12) with six assists. ``We want to prove everybody wrong.''
“We just came in there with a lot of energy,” Allen said.
“I thought Ralph was very aggressive on the point guard (Jerret Smith),” Hamilton said. “Jerel had a lot of energy on Harris. I thought that was a big turning point in the game.”
“We knew that Dion was the head of the team,” Allen said. “We felt like if we pressured him and made him shoot shots that he didn't want, we'd be pretty good.”
"I felt pretty good tonight. I was having fun," said Douglas who tied for the team lead with 15 points. "We did everything good. Rebound, defense, and we didn't turn the ball over very much."
The chant started up again during a stoppage with 30 seconds left on the clock. “We want Al. We want Al.”
On that chant, ''It's just hard to explain,'' Thornton said.
Hamilton admitted he was tempted to grant the fans' wish, but he decided not to out of respect for Michigan. After the game, Thornton and his teammates went to the student section and exchanged high-fives and hugs.
“I had a little concern about how that would be perceived from an opponents' standpoint,” Hamilton said. “I've been on that end of the bench, and it's not a very good feeling.”
“We've had our ups and downs, but it's a very positive sign when you see your fans still with you and supporting as strong as they were tonight,” said Hamilton, whose players high-fived students before leaving the floor.
“I'm praying that Bradley wins so I can play one more time here,” Thornton said.
"I think their quickness, their speed really gave us a lot of problems," Amaker said. "I think they are a tremendous team, great balance and I think they are going to be tough to beat in this tournament."
"He's a great player -- I think that's probably the understatement of the year -- but it shows you tonight that they are not a one-player team,'' Michigan Coach Tommy Amaker said.
"It's a tough way to end the year," Amaker said. "We were pretty darn good at home, but struggled (3-9) on the road."
"A couple times I thought we weren't playing too hard," senior forward Brent Petway said. "I thought there were some people who weren't giving us their maximum effort, despite people trying to tell others."
Next up for the Noles: The winner of Saturday's Mississippi State-Bradley game in a NIT quarterfinal Tuesday. Check out the brackets here.
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