Miami basketball has epic collapse losing to Florida State

The Miami basketball team almost seemed to avoid an epic collapse when Jordan Miller put the Hurricanes in front 84-82 with six seconds left. A Matthew Cleveland 40-foot shot at the buzzer gave Florida State an 85-84 win in Coral Gables. Miami led 54-31 at halftime and 56-41 early in the second half.

The Miami basketball team did not lose the game because of the shot by Cleveland. Absolutely atrocious defense in the second half led to the collapse. After Florida State shot 12-32 in the first half, the Seminoles were 21-31 in the second half. Miami could not get stops down the stretch when they needed them.

The lead changed four times in the final 38 seconds. A Norchad Omier tip dunk with 39 seconds remaining gave Miami an 81-80 lead. Caleb Mills made a runner high off the glass over Miami defenders with 22 seconds remaining to put Florida State back in front 82-81. That set up a wild ending.

Miller’s shot appeared to win the game for Miami before Cleveland’s heroics. A lot will be made of the game-winning shot but this was a Miami defensive collapse in the second half. Florida State hands Miami its first loss of the season at home after 15 straight wins. Cleveland and Darrin Green led Florida State with 20 points each.

Five Hurricanes scored in double figures led by Miller with 21 points. Omier scored 15 points with eight rebounds, Isaiah Wong 14, Bensley Joseph 12 while starting the game and Wooga Poplar 11. Joseph was starting for Nijel Pack who sat out versus Florida State with a knee injury.

Turnover margin is often cited in football as a difference between winning and losing. Miami had 12 and Florida State 11, but the Seminoles committed only one in the second half to 10 for the Hurricanes. Florida State outscored Miami 10-0 in points off turnovers in the second half. Miami had a 16-2 edge in the first half.

The Seminoles improve to 9-20 with the win. Miami falls to 22-6 overall and 14-5 in the ACC. As of the time this will be posted North Carolina leads Virginia 39-26 at halftime. A loss by Virginia to UNC would put Miami a half-game behind Pittsburgh in the ACC standings and the Cavaliers a full game behind the Panthers.