No. 11 Xavier upsets No. 3 FSU, 91-66, in second round

By TERRANCE HARRIS
Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) The Xavier Musketeers didn't have the regular season they hoped to have. They are making up for it now.

The 11th-seeded Musketeers dominated third-seeded Florida State 91-66 during Saturday's second round of the NCAA Tournament. Their second upset in the West Region put them back into the regional semifinal round for the second time in two years and eighth time in program history.

"I'm so excited for the guys next to me and the guys in the locker room. They earned it," Xavier coach Chris Mack said from the post-game podium. "Our team's gone through a lot of adversity this year, and we stayed the course."

But the Musketeers (23-13) found little adversity Saturday as they dominated the bigger and more athletic Seminoles throughout the game. Trevon Bluiett led Xavier with 29 points while Kaiser Gates came off the bench to add 14.

Xavier, which knocked off No. 6 Maryland in the first round, hit big shots on perimeter and then forced FSU to try to shoot long range by sitting in a 2-3 zone much of the game. Led by Gates' four 3-pointers, the Musketeers converted 11 of 17 from beyond the arc, nearly 65 percent shooting.

The Seminoles, meanwhile, hit just 4 of 21 3-point attempts as they struggled to make up ground.

"We've been a very inconsistent 3-point shooting team this year, and obviously they knew that, and they packed it in," said FSU coach Leonard Hamilton, whose team finished second in the ACC this season. "We determined that if we were going to win the game we were going to have to hit from the perimeter, and they did a good job of denying."

Xavier knew the Seminoles like to slash to the basket and get out on fast breaks in transition. The Musketeers made it difficult for FSU to get into its comfort zone by playing zone and also by limiting their turnovers to just nine to force the Seminoles to have to play half-court offense.

Dwayne Bacon led FSU with 20 points but he was 0 for 5 from 3-point range. Xavier Rathan-Mayes was the only Seminoles starter to convert a 3-pointer.

The Musketeers, meanwhile, got production on the perimeter from several different areas with Bluiett also knocking down three 3s. But Xavier also dominated inside, outscoring the Florida State 27-17 in the paint with Sean O'Mara coming off the bench to contribute 11 points.

Xavier's bench outscored the Seminoles' 27-17.

"That's the great thing about his team is we've got a lot of guys who can play," said J.P. Macura, who had 10 points and five assists. "If somebody is not stepping up, another person is."

DOMINANT FIRST HALF

After leading by as many as 15 points in the first half, Xavier went into halftime with a 44-34 lead over the Seminoles.

The Musketeers knocked down five 3-pointers during the first half compared to just one by FSU, but the biggest difference was their success inside against a much taller opponent.

SLOW START

The Seminoles didn't get the production they expected from their bigs during the first half. Michael Ojo didn't take a shot and had two rebounds and no blocks for the game and Christ Koumadje had no points and no blocks for the game.

UP NEXT

Xavier will take on the winner of Saint Mary's-Arizona game in the regional semifinals in the West.

No. 22 Notre Dame beats No. 16 Florida St to reach ACC final

By RALPH D. RUSSO
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — After years of coming up short of the conference tournament title game in New York City as a member of the Big East, Notre Dame will finally get a chance to play for a championship in the Big Apple.

Steve Vasturia and Bonzie Colson each scored 18 points and No. 22 Notre Dame knocked off No. 16 Florida State 77-73 on Friday night to advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title game for the second time in three years.

The third-seeded Fighting Irish (25-8) will face fifth-seeded and No. 14 Duke on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, trying to make it two ACC titles in four seasons as a member of the conference.

In 18 years playing in the Big East, the Fighting Irish never did reach the tournament title game at Madison Square Garden.

"I like this building way more because my record in Barclays is way better than the Garden," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. The Fighting Irish won two NCAA Tournament games at Barclays last year and two more in November at the Legends Classic.

"We were fortunate enough to play in the semis in the Garden, we never got to the Saturday night," Brey said. "And it was electric. I thought tonight was really good. Both arenas I think are on par. We'll probably be in that arena someday. I don't know if I'll still be coaching when we get there, but we'll be in that arena someday too."

Notre Dame has eliminated Duke from the tournament each of the past two seasons, including a semifinal victory in 2015 on the way to the Irish's first conference tournament championship. That team was led by a strong core of upperclassmen such as Jerian Grant, Pat Connaughton and Zach Auguste. Vasturia, Colson, Matt Farrell (15 points) and VJ Beachem (six points and seven rebounds) were the young guys back then. Now they are Notre Dame's core four.

"You know, it shows up in poise," Brey said. "It shows up in outstanding leadership. It shows up in great stability in times of taking punches in a league like ours, which we did."

Dwayne Bacon led Florida State (25-8) with 18 points.

The Irish and Seminoles had a tough act to follow after Duke and North Carolina had the sellout crowd of 18,109 rocking in Brooklyn.

Many fans dressed in blue bailed on the nightcap. Not New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was back at Barclays for a second straight night, sitting behind the Notre Dame bench rooting on his buddy, Brey.

Notre Dame eliminated most of the drama with a 23-8 run to end the first half that put the Irish up 42-26.

Florida State whittled the lead down thanks to Braian Angola-Rodas, who scored 14 of the Seminoles' 15 points in one stretch, including a 3-pointer that made it 63-55 with 8:23 left in the second half.

A driving hoop by Vasturia and a hustle putback by Colson nudged the lead back to 12 a little more than a minute later.

"I think we just kind of combated every run that they made," Vasturia said.

The Irish went 13 for 27 from 3.

"They moved the ball around and executed their offense to perfection, and they knocked down some shots that we just couldn't get to," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said.

BIG PICTURE

Notre Dame: The Irish have thrived with their small lineup, featuring the 6-foot-5 Colson at center. It puts shooters everywhere on the floor and presents matchup problems for bigger teams — such as Florida State. The Irish forced 18 turnovers to help overcome getting outrebounded 41-23 by the Seminoles.

"We're bigger, but it was hard to take advantage of our size because they went so small," Florida State's Jonathan Isaac said.

Florida State: Even though Florida State held a rebounding edge, it didn't do enough damage on the offensive boards. After getting 18 offensive rebounds against Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals, Florida State had nine against the Irish for only eight second-chance points.

FOOTBALL SCHOOLS

Florida State and Notre Dame have met eight times on the football field, with the Seminoles winning six. In basketball, this was the seventh meeting, third this season. The Seminoles and Fighting Irish split the first two.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish lost their only meeting with Duke this season, but Brey is 5-3 in his career against his former boss, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, while at Notre Dame.

Florida State: The Seminoles will wait for Selection Sunday to find out their next opponent. They'll probably be a 3 seed.

No. 10 FSU wins wild Orange Bowl over No. 6 Michigan, 33-32

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Renegade, the horse that serves as Florida State's mascot, took an uncharacteristic tumble while prancing on the field before kickoff.

The horse got up and was just fine.

Hours later, Florida State collapsed — and like Renegade, recovered with a flourish.

Deondre Francois' 12-yard touchdown pass to Nyquan Murray with 36 seconds left put No. 10 Florida State ahead for good, and the Seminoles topped No. 6 Michigan 33-32 in a frantic, down-to-the-wire Orange Bowl on Friday night. It capped a simply wild final few minutes of a game that Florida State controlled most of the way before needing a rally in the final moments.

"The character on this team," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. "I've said it before. I'm as proud of this team as any I've coached."

Dalvin Cook rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown for Florida State (10-3), which led 17-3 and 20-6 early — and was up by 12 midway through the fourth quarter before falling behind. Francois completed only 9 of 27 passes but made the most of them, throwing for 222 yards and connecting with Murray for two scores.

"There's no team in the country like this team," Seminoles offensive lineman Alec Eberle said.

Chris Evans had a 30-yard touchdown run and Khalid Hill an 8-yard scoring catch in the final minutes for Michigan (10-3), which also got a defensive conversion when Josh Metellus ran a blocked extra point back after the second Francois-Murray TD.

But Michigan turned the ball over on its final possession, and the Seminoles held on to win after the teams combined for 23 points and two lead changes in the final 5:22.

"I love them. Love these guys," Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said. "Great group of competitors, great group of workers, and a great group of guys that find a way."

Well, almost, in this case.

The Wolverines played without Heisman Trophy finalist Jabrill Peppers, their do-everything guy who couldn't go because of a bad left hamstring, and lost standout tight end Jake Butt to what was believed to be a serious knee injury in the second quarter.

Wilton Speight was 21 for 38 passing for 163 yards for Michigan, which got a 14-yard interception return from Mike McCray for a touchdown.

Florida State was in total control, but the game turned midway through the fourth when Trey Marshall was ejected for targeting on a punt return — giving Michigan a short field on which to start its comeback.

Marshall missed an amazing finish.

"Best game of my life," Cook said.

Hill's scoring grab was Michigan's first offensive TD of the night, and Evans' run with 1:57 left gave the Wolverines their first lead.

It lasted 81 seconds.

"Coach Harbaugh kept saying it's going to happen, it's going to happen, just stay patient," Speight said. "And I think before that drive that we scored, he basically just said now is the time. We were able to capitalize and almost pull it out."

Florida State's Keith Gavin swung momentum back to the Seminoles with a 66-yard kickoff return right up the middle — setting up the drive where his team would take the lead for good.

Francois lobbed one up perfectly for Murray, and the Seminoles escaped.

"This game here took so many turns," Cook said. "But we kept fighting ... and things turned our way."

THE TAKEAWAY

Michigan: The Wolverines' three losses this season were by a combined five points. ... Michigan managed only 3.4 yards per play, and had players tackled for losses 15 times in the game. ... Michigan also played in the last Orange Bowl to be decided by a single point, the game on Jan. 2, 2000 when Tom Brady led the Wolverines past Alabama 35-34 in overtime.

Florida State: The Seminoles had 201 yards in the first quarter alone. That's more than Michigan allowed in any of four entire games from Sept. 24 through Oct. 22. ... Cook broke his own school single-season rushing record, finishing 2016 with 1,765. ... Florida State snapped a two-game bowl slide. There's never been a three-game bowl losing streak in school history. ... The ACC improved to 6-2 in this season's bowl games.

ORANGE RECORDS

Francois' scoring pass to Murray in the first quarter was the longest TD throw in Orange Bowl history, the 92-yarder topping the mark set in 1959 when Oklahoma's Brewster Hobby connected with Ross Coyle on what became a 79-yard score against Syracuse. Francois also was part of the shortest interception return for a TD in the game's history, when McCray ran his back 14 yards late in the third.

UP NEXT

Michigan: Another Sunshine State team awaits the Wolverines, with Michigan starting its 2017 slate Sept. 2 against Florida in Arlington, Texas.

Florida State: The Seminoles open their season Sept. 2 in Atlanta, against Alabama — in the new domed stadium being built for the NFL's Falcons.