FSU Basketball Road Woes Are Reason For Worry Come Postseason Time

FSU basketball got a road win this weekend when they squeaked by Clemson – further evidence that the issues away from Tallahassee can get them in trouble.

Saturday afternoon, shortly after two in the afternoon, FSU basketball did something that only had happened one other time in the year 2017 – the Seminoles got a road win! Head coach Leonard Hamilton and his team got a two point win in the Palmetto State over the Clemson Tigers – a team they had beat by 48 points just three weeks before.

In those three weeks, did Clemson became a basketball team that was “so much better” they could gain 46 points on Florida State? Or was it that, like the story has been for the entire season, the Seminoles are just a lousy basketball team away from the Tucker Center in Tallahassee?

FSU basketball has made national headlines for – as part of a 23-6 overall record – being undefeated in their 17 games at home this season. Simply math shows that the ‘Noles become a .500 basketball team away from home at 6-6…but there is so much more to that story when you take out the 3-1 record in neutral site games this season.

That’s right, FSU fans. Away from home, our basketball team that is heading to their first NCAA Tournament bid in five years has a road winning percentage this season of .375 – with one game left Tuesday night at a Duke team who may be playing some of the hottest basketball right now in the country.

Florida State Seminoles Basketball

It’s not just that they are losing on the road, but it’s who the Seminoles are losing to. The three wins the season so far are against Virginia (a respectable victory), a Miami team who has been up and down this season and – as we mentioned – a Clemson team who became 46 points better than they had been weeks before.

The five road losses this season? Well, the first one was against a North Carolina team who could be heading to the Final Four so we’ll give that a pass. The others came to a Notre Dame team that FSU had already beaten this season and blowout losses to bubble teams Georgia Tech and Syracuse as well as one of the worst teams in the ACC this season, Pittsburgh.

Like most FSU basketball fans, I was not expecting the Seminoles to be 29-0 at this point…I would have loved it, but knew that wasn’t going to be the case. What is worrisome is the fact that the true road losses have been by an average of over 14 points a game. Meanwhile, the ‘Noles have won their eight ACC home games by an average of just under 20 points each contest.

What is it that makes the Seminoles that bad of a team on the road this season? It’s an issue that needs to be addressed since the ACC Tournament will be played in Brooklyn this year and the NCAA Tournament will be places other than Tallahassee. The defense that shows up inside the Tucker Center and the tenacity that this team shows at home needs to travel to Durham, Brooklyn and wherever the ‘Noles are sent in the tournament.

Otherwise, all the talk about this magical season will be just that – talk…nothing to call home about.