Miami (Fla.) 71, Florida State 47
CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Miami (Fla.), still basking in the afterglow of its dismantling of No. 1 Duke, avoided a letdown Sunday in its ensuing game.
Four nights after their 27-point win over the Blue Devils, the Hurricanes led from start to finish Sunday to post a 71-47 victory over their arch-rivals from Tallahassee.
Miami (15-3, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) extended its winning streak to seven games. The Hurricanes are off to their best start ever in league play, and they remain on top of the ACC standings with a two-game advantage in the loss column over four teams.
Miami's previous best start in conference play was 5-0 back in 1997-98. That season, the Hurricanes were members of the Big East and coached by Leonard Hamilton, who now coaches the Seminoles.
Seniors Trey McKinney Jones (15 points) and Durand Scott with (11) led Miami in scoring, but it was Miami's play at the defensive end that keyed the victory.
The Hurricanes held the Seminoles (11-8, 3-3) to just 30.8 percent shooting from the field. Florida State was the fifth conference team that failed to reach the 60-point mark against Miami and the third that failed to score 50.
Ian Miller, who came off the bench to score 12 points, was the only Seminole in double figures.
After leading by just nine points at the half, the Hurricanes started the second half just as quickly as they had the first, getting their cushion into double digits in the first two minutes of the period and boosting the gap to 23 points midway through the period.
Miami scored the first six points of the game and built a 21-12 advantage midway through the first half.
However, the Seminoles cut their deficit down to 28-26 on Terry Whisnant's 3-pointer with 3:19 left before the break. Florida State had a chance to tie or take the lead on their next possession, but Robert Gilchrist missed a baseline jumper with 2:43 before the intermission.
Miami then closed the half on a 9-2 run with McKinney Jones getting the last five points on a breakaway layup and a 3-pointer.
NOTES: Reggie Johnson's reverse layup with 14:30 left in the first half was the first field goal for Miami's senior center since Dec. 18. Johnson broke his thumb in practice four days later and missed the next eight games before returning Wednesday against Duke. In the upset of the Blue Devils, Johnson missed twice from the field but hit two free throws. ... The Seminoles went into the game having won two of their first three ACC road games. They are 1-1 at home in league play. ... Miami sophomore guard Shane Larkin has had at least one steal in 17 consecutive games, missing only in the season-opening win over Stetson.
