It was a Sunshine State battle Saturday afternoon in Sunrise, Florida at the Amerant Bank Arena. USF and FSU went head-to-head in what was a very one-sided AutoNation Orange Bowl Basketball Classic.
Led by USF’s lethal three point shooting, the Bulls took down the Noles 88-72. USF dominated from tip-off to the final buzzer as the Bulls led for all 40 minutes.
“I’m unbelievably proud of my team,” USF head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim said after the game. “Really proud of our group. That’s a really good team (FSU) that we beat. They got injuries right now so they are not at full strength.”
USF had arguably their best shooting performance of the season, shooting 52% from three. Senior Selton Miguel had a season-high 20 points while Chris Youngblood had 18 points.
FSU’s leading scorer was junior Jamir Watkins, who scored 15 points and eight rebounds but fouled out. As a team, the Noles struggled, though. FSU shot 39% from the field and 36% from downtown.
“We work on closeouts every day,” Miguel said when asked about FSU’s struggle to shoot efficiently.
USF’s team chemistry was a huge factor in the win.
“These road trips have brought us really close,” Youngblood said. “You can get close at home but during the road trips, it’s just you and your team. You have no choice but to get close.
Speaking of the road trip, USF is about to go on a five game homestand.
“Just going back to the Yuengling Center,” Younblood said about coming back home. “The SoFlo Rodeo, our student section, is big time, especially coming off a win like this. We are going to keep building off it.”
But before USF looks ahead, they are going to take the win in. Beating an ACC team is no easy feat, especially in a neutral site.
“I think they (FSU) are as good as any team in the country,” coach Abdur-Rahim said. “They’ve shown that. Their group is very similar to ours. I can tell you this right now. You are not going to want to play them in January, February, and March. I guarantee it. They’ll prepare us for our conference. We know now we are capable of playing against a power-five or high-level team.”
This marks USF’s first win over FSU since November 18 of 2007.
USF is now 3-4 while FSU is 4-4.