College basketball

Relentless FSU has a night to remember

By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published November 30, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - You didn't need to watch for long to know it was going to be one of those nights for Florida State.

Midway through the opening half of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup against Purdue on Tuesday, Seminoles senior point guard Todd Galloway flipped the ball toward sophomore guard Jason Rich for an alley-oop dunk.

"It was high and Jason could have easily given up on it, but he tried to make a play on it," Galloway said.

Rich swatted at it and the ball carried right to Galloway, who grabbed it, squared his shoulders and swished a 3-pointer for a 20-point lead that only grew as the Seminoles overwhelmed the Boilermakers 97-57.

"I hate to refer to Duke," Rich said, "but in the Seton Hall game (Nov.16), they didn't let up. That play was indicative of the kind of night we wanted to have."

The Seminoles (3-1) didn't let up on any play this night.

The 40-point margin was the biggest in the seven-year history of the series between two of college basketball's premier leagues. Wake Forest beat Indiana 100-67 in 2003. It's also the fifth-worst loss in Purdue history.

"It was an old-fashioned butt kicking," Purdue first-year coach Matt Painter said. "If you can have that kind of athleticism and that kind of intensity, you can go a long way. ... I'm going to look forward to following those guys."

FSU, feeling the sting of a loss at Florida on Friday in which it took a 21-4 lead but couldn't maintain its intense play, showed it had learned something.

To a man, the Seminoles seemed to make that extra pass, eschewing shots at times to find a more open teammate. They shot 64.7 percent in the first half, including 9-of-16 from 3-point range, to take complete control 58-23 at the half. They didn't score that many in seven games last season.

Eleven Seminoles got into the game in the opening half.

Eleven Seminoles scored.

"It was obvious the guys learned a lot from a lack of execution last weekend and seemed to have gone into this game with a lot of determination we were going to execute on offense from start to finish," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said.

The youthful Boilermakers (2-2), looking to rebuild after several tough seasons, couldn't make shots and couldn't seem to match the Seminoles' quickness. They turned the ball over 18 times, which FSU parlayed into 30 points.

"It's very tough. You try to get your guys up. You try to watch film. You try to prepare them. But you can't simulate that type of athleticism, that type of size," said Painter, undermanned with one of his top returners, senior guard David Teague, out with a knee injury and a top recruit, point guard Tarrance Crump, suspended for the season.

To the delight of the announced 7,022 at the Donald L. Tucker Center, the Seminoles only poured it on and led by as many 43 points.

"The true test of our team will be how we come back (today) and how we approach (today's) practice," Hamilton said. "Our goal is to reach our fullest potential and you have a chance to do that when you sell out and you play with this type of spirit, unselfish spirit and tremendous focus on the defensive end."

[Last modified November 30, 2005, 05:02:19]