Inside the box score: FSU throttles Murray State

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports A great thing about a veteran team is that Leonard Hamilton can really mix up the defensive game plans, even in a case like Murray State where the Seminoles essentially had one practice in which to prepare. Would FSU mirror the Virginia plan, with someone face guarding Ja Morant like the ‘Noles did to Kyle Guy? Would Florida State dip into the wayback machine and pull out the Dennis Smith defense? A few seconds after tip, it became clear that FSU was doing neither. After watching film the Seminoles staff decided that they couldn’t stop Morant, and so they were going to do what no other team has done this season. They were going to put their guys on an island, and let them defend Morant one-on-one, with the help defenders focusing on shutting down the other four Racers. It didn’t look like a great decision when Morant buried four quick 3-pointers and the Racers took a 14-7 lead. But from that point forward, it was a rout. Morant averages 10 assists per game, which leads the nation by a mile, and he had 16 in their first round win over Marquette. But against FSU he had four. It was just the 2nd time this season that he’s had less than five.

…