Pitt will see a different Florida State team in Tallahassee rematch
When Pitt opened the basketball season Nov. 6 with a 63-61 victory against Florida State, there were still four games left in the football season.
As far as Pitt coach Jeff Capel is concerned, that was another time. Literally, it was another place.
After opening the season at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center, Florida State (21-4, 11-3) gets a crack at Pitt on its own turf Tuesday night in Tallahassee, Fla.
“Everyone in the country is different from that first opening day game,” Capel said.
“That seems like ages ago. That seems like a different year, a different season. We know we are going to face a different team.”
In the 3 1/2 months since that game, Florida State has risen from a team that wasn’t ranked in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 to No. 8 in the nation.
Coach Leonard Hamilton credits that opening-night performance by Pitt with motivating his players, six of whom were new to the team.
“They took us to the woodshed and gave us a nice licking,” he said. “They outplayed us in every way.
“We had to elevate our focus defensively. We were extremely motivated for a period of time because they set the tone for the way we had to play at the beginning of the year.”
After that game, Florida State compiled seven- and 10-game winning streaks before five-point losses at Virginia and Duke. The Seminoles defeated Syracuse, 80-77, on Saturday without leading scorer Devin Vassell (13.4 points per game). It was FSU’s 20th consecutive victory at home.
Hamilton refused to reveal what kept Vassell out of the lineup or whether he’ll play against Pitt, but he noted that his non-starters totaled 41 points. During the game, M.J. Walker took an elbow to his lips, needed 12 stitches to close the cut and returned to score 16 points in only 18 minutes.
For Pitt (15-11, 6-9) to remain competitive with a deep Florida State team, the Panthers must avoid the slow starts and 18- to 20-point deficits that have marked their five losses in the past seven games. They have fought back in four of the losses, but can’t make up enough ground.
“We dug ourselves such holes on the road in the first half, we haven’t been able to fully recover,” Capel said.
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Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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