Notre Dame Hammers FSU, 84-72
Junior forward Bonzie Colson had a career day as Notre Dame avenged a loss from last month, beating 14th-ranked Florida State 84-72.
Coming off a 27-point, 16-rebound effort Tuesday against Wake Forest, Colson scored a career-high 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against the Seminoles, one of the top defensive teams in the country.
Unranked Notre Dame has now won two-straight games and improves to 19-7 overall and 8-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Notre Dame managed to out-rebound Florida State 41-34. The Seminoles, the second-tallest team in Division I, also struggled from the foul line, making 7-of-22 attempts.
According to the RPI, Saturday’s victory over the Seminoles is Notre Dame’s second-best résumé win of the season. The Irish have now beaten Louisville (5th in RPI) and FSU (6).
Notre Dame led 40-31 at halftime against Florida State. It was the first halftime lead for the Irish since Jan. 21 against Syracuse.
Florida State star freshman forward Jonathan Isaac scored 23 points, had 10 rebounds and blocked seven shots in the first matchup Jan. 18, an 83-80 Seminoles win. Saturday, Isaac was limited to just four points and six rebounds as Colson commanded the paint.
In an early preview of the NCAA Tournament, the selection committee released the current top-16 teams as of today. Florida State was the No. 6 overall team, slotted to get a two-seed.
But the Seminoles did not look a championship-caliber team Saturday, unable to keep pace with the high-powered Irish. Junior guard Matt Farrell added 15 points and nine assists and senior guard Steve Vasturia had 15 points, including his first-career dunk.
Florida State was led by sophomore guard Terance Mann's 15 points.
Notre Dame returns to action Tuesday at Boston College. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
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