Clemson vs. Florida State postgame quotes

Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell

Overall thoughts:

“Disappointing loss. We never got into a good rhythm in the game. Florida State got more easy baskets. Turnovers and some bad shots by us in the first half led to easier baskets for them, that gave them confidence. Certainly Xavier Rathan-Mayes was player of the game, he was outstanding. His ability to make good decisions was very impressive for a freshman. Our inability to make free throws was problematic.”

On the last play:

“I’ll have to look at it again to see exactly how open he was. I don’t know, they went to little bit of a soft zone, I thought we went through it ok. You get a pitch-ahead and the guy gets an open look or a decent look and he’s got to be aggressive. I don’t know if there was space for him to drive it, I’ll have to watch the film.

On shooting numbers:

“I thought we got a little frustrated. We didn’t score well all night, we had a terrible first half. Missed free throws, turnovers, missed shots. We had some makeable shots, but we took some bad shots. This was a tough turnaround. Syracuse and Florida State are so much different.”

On free throw misses:

“The crowd was really trying to help us. We made a few plays, got it close. You get fouled, if you make the free throws you can set up your press and do different things. We had a couple guys that are decent shooters miss them.”

Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton

Opening Statement:

“I think both teams played extremely hard. It was a very physical game. They were coming off very emotional. We had a very bad loss so we both needed this game. Both teams played with a sense of urgency. We were just able to hang on there toward the end and win the game. Clemson executed so well offensively that we knew we had to defend for the whole 35 seconds on the shot clock so we knew we’d be successful.”

On the second half:

“The game could have gone either way. Both teams I thought played very hard and stuck with the game plans. I think we played just a little bit better and hit a couple free throws there toward the end that helped us come to victory.”

On hitting 85% of free throws on the road:

“I would have liked to have gone to the free throw line a little more. They kind of changed the offensive system there towards the end of the game, which was a very smart strategy on their part.”

“We were very fortunate that they didn’t hit some of those free throws. I’m sure coach will think that probably made the biggest difference in the game them getting to the foul line and not hitting their free throws. We‘ve had some of those games where we went to the foul line and we didn’t shoot very well. That’s kind of the nature of what goes on in ACC games. It seems like each game takes on a different personality and you never really know what’s going to happen. When two ACC teams show up it becomes a battle. All the little things make a difference in each game.”

On playing so well against Clemson in Littlejohn Coliseum:

“I did not know we played that well. Every game is a battle and you feel like you’re drained when you’re successful. I probably could say the same thing. When they come down to our place they seem to have been able to do a good job in Tallahassee. I’m not really sure there’s any reason. I just think Coach (Brownell) does a great job coaching his team. We both played very hard. We both emphasize a lot of defense. This game is always a game that could go either way. We have been fortunate to win a few games here and unfortunately they have been able to win a few games in Tallahassee.”