Three things we learned from FSU’s loss to #7 UNC

The Florida State men’s basketball team dropped last night’s home contest to the North Carolina Tar Heels 106-90. Despite a valiant offensive output from a Seminoles squad that has shown the ability to score points all season (82 PPG), the defensive effort simply wasn’t enough to upset a powerhouse like UNC.

Coach Hamilton’s teams don’t often put 90+ points on the scoreboard, nor do they often give up as many points. Last night’s result marked the most points a Hamilton squad has allowed in his 14-year tenure in Tallahassee. The ‘Noles stayed in the game until it got away from them in the final minutes–they even took the lead midway through the second half–but it wasn’t enough to pull off the upset in front of a national audience on ESPN.

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Here’s three things we might’ve learned from FSU’s Monday night loss, its second in as many ACC contests this season:

1. Xavier Rathan-Mayes is an absolute treat to watch

Everyone’s favorite Canadian sophomore guard scored 30 points on 8-of-16 field goals, including a whopping 7-of-9 three pointers in addition to three assists and four rebounds. Monday night marked XRM’s 10th double-digit point output this season (14 games) and brings his season average to 12.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 5.6 APG. I’m not sure why but Rathan-Mayes likes to have his best games against UNC; last year in Chapel Hill he dropped a career-high 35 points in a narrow loss.

Now, midway through his sophomore season, XRM just recorded his fourth career 30-point game, and will look to keep the scuffling Seminoles afloat as its daunting conference schedule evolves.

2. FSU’s featured freshman duo have bright futures ahead of them

Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley have become household names in Tallahassee, and the freshmen once again put up solid numbers. Bacon, arguably the best basketball recruit FSU has ever housed, dropped 18 points and seven rebounds on the Tar Heels, while Beasley recorded 15 and 10 in just his fifth career game. Beasley has scored double digit points in every game of his college career, and last night marked his first double-double.

Florida State had better hope the NBA doesn’t come calling for its two outstanding freshmen. A pair of one-and-dones could cripple FSU’s chances to threaten the ACC ‘big boys’ for years to come.

3. The Seminoles may still have a lengthy road back to ACC relevancy

FSU won its only ACC championship in 2012 after knocking off heavily-favored North Carolina in the conference title game.

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They haven’t done much since.

Either Duke or UNC have appeared in every ACC conference title game since 1997, and Virginia and Miami have emerged as perennial regular season champions and tournament crashers over the last few years. FSU has never won a regular season crown, and annually struggle to net those program-altering blue chip recruits (This is why having Dwayne Bacon around is a huge deal. But is his supporting cast enough?)

Every year FSU seems to take one of the ACC powerhouses down to the wire in a game, but at the end of the day the Dukes and UNC’s of the world seem to outlast them and ultimately prevail. Last night was another such instance. FSU came storming back in the second half to erase a double-digit deficit, but Roy Williams’ squad was just on another level. This might be one of the most explosive Seminoles teams we’ve seen in years–definitely since 2012–but they still aren’t elite. Not yet anyway. But we’re only two games into ACC play, so we still haven’t seen what they’re fully capable of. I would love to be proven wrong.

The road doesn’t get any easier for FSU, as their next ACC matchup comes on the road at #11 Miami on Saturday.