NCAA tourney: Florida State brought its own highlight-reel plays to the Ja Morant Show
Before even stepping onto the court Saturday in Hartford, Connecticut, there was enormous praise and respect from the Florida State Seminoles to Murray State and its star, Ja Morant.
FSU coach Leonard Hamilton compared Morant to NBA legend Magic Johnson as he prepared his team to face the early star of the 2019 NCAA men’s basketball tournament following Morant becoming the eighth player in tournament history to record a triple-double in an upset win over Marquette on Thursday.
Well, Morant Madness kept going Saturday, but the Seminoles brought their own highlight-reel plays en route to a 90-62 victory.
FSU heads to the Sweet 16 one year removed from an Elite Eight run. The Seminoles face the winner of the game between No. 1-seeded Gonzaga and Baylor in the West region next week.
Here’s a sampling of plays by FSU:
Meanwhile, Morant is projected as a top-three NBA Draft pick this year and capped his two-year Murray State career by becoming the program’s all-time assists leader Saturday.
He finished with 28 points, though he needed 21 shots to get there. Morant did start off by nailing his first five three-pointers.
In Thursday’s victory, he secured his triple-double on only nine shots. Morant also had four assists and five rebounds Saturday.
This story was originally published March 23, 2019 at 7:26 PM with the headline "NCAA tourney: Florida State brought its own highlight-reel plays to the Ja Morant Show."
