Without Phil Cofer, Florida State survives Vermont three-point barrage
No Phil Cofer?
No problem for the Florida State Seminoles in Thursday’s Round of 64 game against Vermont in the West Region.
Well, not until late. FSU was stuck in a battle with the Catamounts, who drilled a barrage of three-pointers throughout the game in Hartford, Connecticut.
Timely defensive pressure and solid free-throw shooting down the stretch sealed the Seminoles’ 76-69 victory.
They now face the winner of Marquette-Murray State in the Round of 32 on Saturday.
Vermont made twice as many three-pointers as it averages on the season, nailing 16 against the Seminoles.
“We didn’t expect it to be an easy win,” FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton said on TBS after the game. “You don’t have many easy victories in the NCAA tournament. That’s why they call it March Madness. ... I’ve never seen a team shoot that well from the perimeter ... I’m just glad we were able to advance.”
FSU started sluggish against the smaller Catamounts, a point that Hamilton stressed during his halftime interview as the teams entered the break tied at 27. Hamilton said he wanted his team to have more touches in the paint in the second half.
The Seminoles leaned on senior Terance Mann, who scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, with Cofer out. Cofer, one of FSU’s better defenders, was sidelined with a right foot injury and was not in uniform for the game. He was one of the key players on last year’s team that advanced to the Elite Eight in the West region.
Mfiondu Kabengele, a nephew of NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo, had a game-high 21 points.
This story was originally published March 21, 2019 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Without Phil Cofer, Florida State survives Vermont three-point barrage."
