Paradise Island, Bahamas – After having their national- game winning streak snapped Friday, the fourth-ranked Connecticut ranked Florida State Seminoles in the third place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis at Imperial Arena in the Bahamas.
Florida State suffered its first loss of the season as Harvard took down the Seminoles in a low-scoring 46-41 affair. Leonard Hamilton's team started the season out with five straight wins, one of which was over UCF, before losing to the Crimson. The Seminoles' scoring output of 41 points against Harvard was substantially lower than their average going into the game (76.8 points per game). Florida State shot 36.2 percent from the field in the contest and held Harvard to just 27.3 percent from the field, but free throws made the difference. Harvard managed to go 17-of-24 from the free throw line while Florida State made just 4-of-10 from the charity stripe.
Connecticut was caught off guard on Friday as UCF rallied in the second half to take down the defending national champions. It was the first loss for the Huskies since March 5th, 2011. Connecticut led the Knights by 17 in the second half, but collapsed down the stretch. The Huskies outshot their opponent in the loss, as they knocked down 42.4 percent of their shots from the field while UCF shot 40 percent from the floor. Connecticut was atrocious from beyond the arc in the contest as it made just 2-of-18 from three point range. The Huskies won the battle of the boards 36-27, but could not hit any clutch shots down the stretch to fend off the Knights.
This will be the seventh meeting between Connecticut and Florida State. The Huskies have won four of the six previous meetings.
Michael Snaer is leading the charge for the Seminoles this season. Snaer was the only Florida State player to score in double figures against Harvard, as he finished with 10. Snaer is leading the team with 12.5 points per game. Luke Loucks had eight points and four assists in the loss to the Crimson, while Xavier Gibson posted six points along with six rebounds and four steals.
Jeremy Lamb scored 15 points against the Knights, but struggled to do so as he shot 5-of-16 from the floor and 2-of-9 from beyond the arc. Andre Drummond played well inside as he scored 13 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and blocked four shots. Alex Oriakhi had a double-double off the bench with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Connecticut's Shabazz Napier committed seven turnovers in the loss.
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