Men's Basketball

Watkins scores career-high 34 as Florida State eliminates Virginia Tech from ACC Tournament

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jamir Watkins scored 12 of his career-high 34 points in the final three minutes, Jalen Warley added 18 points and No. 9 seed Florida State pulled away in the second half to beat No. 8 seed Virginia Tech 86-76 on Wednesday in the second round of the ACC Tournament.

Watkins was 9 of 15 from the field and 14 of 17 at the free-throw line to set a program record for points in an ACC Tournament game. He also had 11 rebounds and four steals. Warley made 8 of his 10 shots as Florida State shot 54% from the field.

Virginia Tech was 4-of-17 shooting in the opening 17 minutes of the second half. The Hokies also finished with 13 turnovers, leading to 25 points for the Seminoles.

Florida State (17-15) advances to play top-seeded and fourth-ranked North Carolina in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The Seminoles dropped both regular-season meetings with the Tar Heels, 78-70 on the road and 75-68 at home. Florida State hasn’t beaten North Carolina since the 2020-21 season.

Tyler Nickel sank a long 3-pointer with 7:28 left to tie it at 57-all, but Virginia Tech did not make another field goal until Sean Pedulla’s basket with 2:42 left to pull within 71-62.

Of Note
  • Florida State now boasts a 3-2 record against Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament. The Seminoles have won three-straight games against the Hokies in the conference tournament.
  • FSU advances to play top-seeded North Carolina (25-6, 17-3 ACC) in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 12:00 p.m. on ESPN.
  • The Seminoles now lead the all-time series against the Hokies 38-25.
  • With the win, FSU becomes the seventh nine-seed to topple the eighth-seed in the second round of the ACC tournament.
  • Seminole head coach Leonard Hamilton picked up his 17th career victory in the ACC Tournament.
  • With 34 points and 11 rebounds, redshirt junior Jamir Watkins notched his second consecutive double-double and fifth of the season. 34 points also marks a new career-high in scoring for Watkins, surpassing his 27-point effort at Syracuse on January 23, 2024.
  • The 33-point performance from Watkins marked the highest single-game scoring effort throughout the 2024 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament thus far.