The 4th seeded Florida State Seminoles (29-8) fell to the top seed Gonzaga Bulldogs (33-3) 72-58 in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night in Anaheim, California.
Gonzaga set the tone early and often against Florida State, who had eliminated them from the tournament a season ago. FSU shot just 39% from the field and could not match the Bulldogs physically as Gonzaga built a 38-27 halftime lead. Though the Seminoles rallied to within four with under four minutes to play, Gonzaga went on a 12-2 run and Zach Norvell, Jr, closed the door with a three-pointer at 3:06 to go that pulled Gonzaga to a 63-56 lead and effectively ended any hopes of a FSU comeback.
Rui Hachimura scored 17 points to lead Gonzaga, while Brandon Clarke added fifteen points and twelve rebounds. Norvell, Jr, and Josh Perkins each added fourteen as well. The Seminoles were led by 20 points from Trent Forrest in the losing effort.
Gonzaga now advances to an Elite Eight match up against the third-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders, who knocked off number two seed Michigan 63-44 on Thursday night. Florida State now prepares for the off-season, and will return to game play on the basketball court in November.
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