The Seminoles, in search of a spot in the Top 25, beat another ranked opponent, this time 81-65 over No. 15 Georgia Tech.
By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published February 4, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - In the waning moments Tuesday evening, the Florida State students began a predictable, albeit inappropriate, chant.
"Overrated."
What should have been reverberating through the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center instead? Here's a suggestion:
"Underrated."
FSU made a case for a national ranking, overwhelming No. 15 Georgia Tech 81-65 behind a career-high 33 points from senior guard Tim Pickett, giving it three eye-catching wins in its past five games.
The Seminoles (16-6, 4-4 ACC) beat then-No. 7 North Carolina in overtime and then-No. 10 Wake Forest before a narrow loss at No. 1 Duke. Now with this win against the Yellow Jackets, the Seminoles seem well-positioned for a run at their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1998.
That's no overstatement.
"If they were in another league, they would be in the Top 25; they sure wouldn't have four league losses," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. "They're a Top 25 team and clearly an NCAA Tournament team. ... No one's going to tell me that Florida State's not a tournament team. I don't care what you say."
He has seen - and beaten - likely tournament teams in Connecticut, Texas Tech and Wake Forest. Hmm. And his Yellow Jackets (16-5, 4-4), tied with the Seminoles for fourth in the ACC, lost only one other game by double figures, at North Carolina, 103-88.
"This is the first time that I believe I can say we maintained a focus for 40 minutes the entire year," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "I saw some improvement tonight. I've seen a tremendous amount of improvement in this team the last two weeks."
As has been the case in that time, Pickett set the tone.
He added a game-high eight rebounds, three steals and three assists to his 10-of-16 shooting from the field, including 7-of-8 in the second half.
Hamilton could only liken that to a performance he'd seen during his time as an assistant at Kentucky. Jack Givens had 41 points in the 1978 NCAA finale against Duke.
"I was just having fun," Pickett said.
"Tim Pickett put on an offensive show," Hewitt said. "He's a tremendous scorer. ... I told the guys in the huddle a couple of times, I said, "I don't want to hear about him making tough shots. He's a tough shotmaker. You just have to do better.' "
He gave at least five players the chance.
"They were talking, "We're going to D you up,' " Pickett said. "I kept smiling. You don't have to tell someone what you're going to do. You just do it."
He did, even with defenders right on him. But FSU forward Anthony Richardson quipped that Pickett needs only about "a centimeter" of space to get off his shot.
Had it only been Pickett, however, Tech might have hung tough. But he had some help.
FSU jumped out to a 16-5 lead after less than five minutes, but the Yellow Jackets rallied for a 35-33 halftime lead and were up 52-51 after nearly eight minutes.
"Defensively, we stepped it up a little bit and had some key stops," Hamilton said.
Tech made just six of its last 19 shots.
Meanwhile, FSU junior forward Adam Waleskowski scored inside, drew a foul and hit a free throw. Freshman guard Von Wafer followed with a jumper and, after a Waleskowski 3-pointer, added two free throws for a 61-56 lead with 8:45 left.
Then the Seminoles turned to Pickett. Not a bad plan on this night. He hit a short jumper and then two free throws, bringing the crowd of 8,288 to its feet.
And bringing the team closer to national acclaim?
"It's clear. You win enough games, you make it to the NCAA Tournament. If you don't, you don't," Hamilton said. So, sitting here speculating won't do us any good. We have to go out and earn the right to be considered for postseason honors."
