Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Florida State's biggest asset
By Luke Lapinski
Florida State isn't having the season it was hoping for. The Seminoles were expected to make some considerable noise in the ACC this year -- in fact, many onlookers had them projected just outside that top grouping that was supposed to include Duke, North Carolina State and possibly North Carolina. But even afterh last night's victory at Georgia Tech, however, Leonard Hamilton's group is now just 5-4 in conference play, and 13-9 overall.
At this point, a fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament seems fairly far-fetched. Our own Joe Lunardi has them out with plenty of ground to make up, and it would essentially take a near perfect surge through the rest of the season or a miraculous run through the ACC tournament to get them in.
Considering the inconsistencies they've shown of late, their best bet is likely a scenario where they get hot in March and take down the league tournament. That may be a long shot, but it can't be written off entirely because of Michael Snaer and his penchant for late game heroics. The senior guard is averaging a team-high 13.9 points and 2.5 assists per contest, but the most notable stat to his name is the fact that he's hit three game-winning shots in the last two weeks. And it's nothing new to him. As ESPN's Ryan Feldman points out, Snaer has now knocked down six of his 11 attempts over the past two seasons in situations where he could either tie or win a game in the final minute of regulation or overtime. In other words, if FSU is close late, it always has a chance with Snaer on the floor. The problem for the Seminoles this year has simply been staying within striking distance on a consistent basis.
