Michael Snaer made the 3-pointers with consistency.
The Florida State senior guard was 4-for-4 from beyond the arc in the closing seconds in his career, two last season and another two this season. So what did he do with the game on the line again last Tuesday at Georgia Tech? He dribbled the ball at midcourt and then made a drive for five.
Snaer wants the ball in his hands in the final seconds. And he expects to make the shot despite shooting just 40 percent from the field (38 percent on threes) for the season. After a game-winning 3-pointer against Maryland on Jan. 30, Snaer called the shot easy.
“I knew it was going in once it left my hand,” Snaer said.
And he is making it look easy. From Jan. 24 to Feb. 5, a span of just 13 days, Snaer found a way to hit three buzzer-beating shots — a banked-in 25-footer to beat Clemson, a 3-pointer with a second left to edge Maryland and then a driving, floating layup to sneak past Georgia Tech.
All of them a little different. All of them memorable. And necessary for a young team that is 13-10 overall, 5-5 in the ACC entering Wednesday’s home game with third-ranked Miami, which is 10-0 in the conference.
FSU is 3-3 in its past six games, with all three wins coming on Snaer’s heroics.
“I don’t remember ever hitting a buzzer beater in my career,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “I’m a little concerned. What does it mean? Does that mean that we’re not playing well enough to extend the lead where we can sit there and watch the cheerleaders and listen to the band.”
Former Duke star Mike Gminski, who also played in the NBA for several years, said he has never seen a player do what Snaer has recently.
“Going back in the ACC, I can’t think of a guy that has stepped up in this extraordinary fashion,” said Gminski, who has seen a few of Snaer’s buzzer-beaters in person as an analyst for the Fox Sports networks. “I’ve seen (a player make) one or two.”
But not five.
A look at Snaer’s five game-winners:
Jan. 21, 2012: FSU 76, Duke 73
Duke had won 45 straight games at home and was tied with the Seminoles before FSU guard Luke Loucks drove downcourt in the waning seconds before finding Snaer for the game-winner.
“Just him being able to make that play — it was a tremendous play,” Snaer said of Loucks. “All I had to do was shoot it. He set everything up perfectly.”
Feb. 16, 2012: FSU 48, Virginia Tech 47
Less than a month later, FSU was trailing Virginia Tech by two in the final seconds when Snaer made his three.
“I was wide open,” Snaer said. “Anybody could have hit that shot.”
Jan. 24, 2013: Florida State 60, Clemson 57
With the game tied, Snaer pulled up for a 25-footer with two defenders in his face and banked it in.
“I didn’t know how it was going in, but I was like, ‘This is probably going in,’ ” Snaer said. “It felt good. You have a guy that has that lucky touch, you have to just give it to him.”
Jan. 30, 2013: FSU 73, Maryland 71
Trailing 71-70, Snaer hit the game-winner with 1.1 seconds remaining.
“There’s no way I can miss this one,” Snaer said. “It’s never been this clean.”
Feb. 5, 2013: FSU 56, Georgia Tech 54
With the game tied, Snaer drove the lane and his floater in the lane gave the Seminoles the victory on the road.
A few days after his latest game-winner, Snaer again acted like his buzzer-beater business was nothing.
“I definitely can (appreciate it), but at the same time, you have to wait until the season is over,” Snaer said.
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