Seminoles Dig Their Own Grave, Fall To UConn In Overtime By Two

The defending national champions No. 4 UConn Huskies were toppled by UCF yesterday, as were the No. 20 Florida State Seminoles by Harvard. In the Battle 4 Atlantis, the losing teams met for the consolation game, third place and bragging rights to beating a ranked team.

Unfortunately, the Seminoles will not go home happy. Forcing an overtime was too much to handle as the Huskies inched past the Noles by two points in the Bahamas tournament. This was not the low scoring affair we saw yesterday, the game ended 78-76. Michael Snaer and Deividas Dulkys led the scoring for the Noles with 20 and 14 points respectively.

Snaer missed a jumper to win the game as time expired in the second half. UConn had tied the game on three points from Ryan Boatright on the free throw line. He was sent to the line after a foul by Seminole Jeff Peterson with 0:07 left, and he tied the game under pressure. Kudos to Peterson.

After a well fought overtime, a lay up from the Noles' Bernard James tied the game with 1:29 remaining, and a +1 on a free throw gave FSU the lead - but UConn's star athlete, Shabazz Napier, made a three point jumper with 1:08 on the clock to put UConn up by two points. From there, Nole fans should buckle their seatbelt:

0:57 - Lay up by James blocked
0:55 - Offensive rebound by Dulkys
0:51 -  Luke Loucks misses a 3-point jumper
0:47 - Steal by Deividas Dulkys off UConn's Napier
0:45 - Loucks fouled, misses two free throws
--- UConn drains 34 seconds off the clock ---
0:11 - James rebound after Napier misses jumper
0:02 - Snaer passed the ball

The Seminoles pass well beyond the arc, and giving the ball to rising Seminole Michael Snaer as time expired was the right decision. He threw one up before the buzzer hit 0:00, but the shot never found the net. Three turnovers and five scoring opportunities were enough to win the game for Florida State. This game was the Seminoles to lose, and lose they did.

Battle 4 Atlantis Bracket: Florida State Takes On The Connecticut Huskies For Third Place

The Florida State Seminoles and Connecticut Huskies entered the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas as the only ranked teams, but after a pair of upsets, the two BCS schools will be playing for third place on Saturday afternoon.

Connecticut blew a 17-point lead Friday in losing to the UCF Knights 68-63. After taking a 50-33 lead early in the second half, the Huskies allowed UCF to score on 16 of their final 22 possessions, ending a 16-game UConn winning streak.

Florida State lost an ugly game to Harvard, falling 46-41 despite holding the Crimson to 27.3 percent shooting from the floor. The Seminoles were undone by their own 36.2 percent shooting and 16 turnovers. Missing their first 15 shots from the floor also did not aid Florida State.

Florida State leads the all-time series between the two schools 4-2, though the two teams have not met since a 67-60 Seminoles win in November of 1997.

We'll be following the Battle 4 Atlantis action in this StoryStream. For more news and notes on the Florida State Seminoles, be sure to follow Tomahawk Nation. Get to know the Huskies at The UConn Blog.

Battle 4 Atlantis: Harvard Upsets No. 20 Florida State 46-41

Florida State was beaten at their own game in the Battle 4 Atlantis.