FSU Basketball Preview: Noles Look to End Recent Slump vs. Miami

FSU basketball travels to Coral Gables to face a surging Miami Hurricanes team,  fresh off back-to-back losses.

So, pretty big game coming up for FSU basketball! I know, it’s National Signing Day and no one wants to talk hoops right now (especially considering how last week went), but hey, there’s still an important matchup to talk about.

The Seminoles head to Coral Gables tonight and will play a Miami Hurricanes team coming off a huge win. The Hurricanes hosted North Carolina on Saturday, and beat them by 15 points. (It is so hard to win road games in the ACC.)

Florida State, meanwhile, is coming off an 0-2 week, that saw them drop games to Georgia Tech and Syracuse. They did show signs of improvement after three terrible halves in a row, but the focus just hasn’t been there for FSU.

Despite the tough week, FSU is still 10th overall in the RPI, and are a projected three-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Let’s get into it.

Last Time the ‘Noles Took the Court

The Seminoles headed to Northern NY on Saturday, coming off a deflating loss to GT. After an awful offensive performance in that game, the first half against Syracuse was much of the same. They struggled mightily to score, and faced an 18-point lead going into halftime.

The second half was better, not still not enough to earn the win. Florida State got the Syracuse lead down to two multiple times, but just couldn’t get over the final hump. The final score read Orange 82 – Seminoles 72, and it marked the good guys’ second loss in a row.

Jonathan Isaac played well, scoring 19 points just nine attempts. Dwayne Bacon scored 19 as well, but it took him 18 shots to do so.

Opponent Preview

The Hurricanes enter the game with a 14-6 record, and are 4-4 in ACC play. As is the norm for Jim Larranaga-coached teams, their defense is once again, excellent. Their KenPom ranking is 33rd overall (20th in defense, and 82nd in offense). They do a great job of not fouling their opponents, which may actually work in FSU’s favor, considering how porous they are from the free-throw line.

Miami plays an extremely slow pace, averaging 69.3 possessions per game, which is good for 296th in the country. So it will be up to the Seminoles to quicken up the pace a bit.

Florida State Seminoles Basketball

They are also one of the best rebounding teams in the country. Their rebound rate is 54.7 percent, good for 17th overall. FSU cannot give them extra possessions; second possessions usually lead to easy baskets. (All stats via Team Rankings.)

The players that Seminoles fans have to know are primarly senior guard Devon Reed, junior guard JaQuan Newton, and freshman stud Bruce Brown. All three are athletic, good defenders, and average over 12 points per game. Brown is coming off a huge performance against the Tar Heels that saw him score 30 points on just 11 shot attempts (ridiculous). He also averages seven rebounds per game, which speaks to athleticism, considering he’s just 6-foot-5 and 190-pounds.

This will be a big game for Bacon, Isaac, Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Terrance Mann, especially defensively. To have a chance to steal a big road win, they need to defend well and not let Miami put up a bunch of points. Mann, also needs to give the team more on offense. Their last two losses came in games in which he didn’t score a single field goal. He’s too important to remain missing in action.

Point Spread/How to Watch

The Seminoles head into this matchup as underdogs for the first time in a while. According to Odds Shark, the Hurricanes are favored by -1. It makes sense, FSU is coming off a miserable week, and Miami has been playing very well of late.

To watch this game, you’ll have to tune into the ACC Network (if you can figure out what channel that is for you), or you can stream it on Watch ESPN. I’m hoping for two things tomorrow. Those are: a huge close for Jimbo Fisher and the football team on NSD, and an FSU basketball road win against a huge rival. Hopefully both come to fruition.