FSU Basketball Weekly Preview: February 5th-11th

Here’s a preview of FSU basketball and their upcoming week of games scheduled for play during the 2017-18 basketball season.

It was the best of times and it was the worst of times for FSU basketball this past week – well, in a reverse order as the Seminoles had possibly their worst loss of the season take place followed by the second time in the last two weeks where the Noles avenged a close loss earlier this season to an ACC foe.

Now, the Seminoles face one of their toughest weeks this season as they host maybe their biggest game of the season against a top five foe while hitting the road against a conference foe that they have never beaten in the regular season away from the friendly fans of the Tucker Center.

Florida State Seminoles Basketball

Here’s our recap of last week’s action and a preview of this week’s games for the Seminoles.

Last Week Recap

Last Wednesday, FSU basketball hit the road for what looked like – on paper, at least – a sure win over a Wake Forest team that had lost seven in a row entering the game and was next to last in the ACC. The Seminoles had a six-point lead at the break and led the Demon Deacons in rebounds and had fewer turnovers.

The problem was that the Noles blew a late lead with less than one minute to go by missing some key free throws and playing sloppy defense as the Demon Deacons came up with the 76-72 win that was certainly a bad loss on FSU’s resume for the tournament. Phil Cofer was the only player over 10 points for the Seminoles as he had 23 in the game.

On Saturday, the Seminoles stayed on the road to take on a Louisville Cardinals team who came back from a double-digit deficit to beat the Noles in Tallahassee last month. Again, FSU basketball was up at the half and had to hold on for dear life at the end – as Terance Mann missed two free throws but came up with a big block that sealed a 80-76 win. Cofer again led the team with 16 points while Braian Angola added 13 points.

Opponent Preview

Wednesday, the Seminoles will return home for a primetime showdown with the No. 2 ranked Virginia Cavaliers, who have won 14 straight games that included two wins last week against Louisville and Syracuse with another dose of strong defense and an offense that usually doesn’t have to hit 60 points a game.

On Saturday, it’s back on the road to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for an afternoon tilt in South Bend, Indiana – where the Seminoles have lost two previous meetings. Notre Dame has struggled this season to a 13-10 record and face Boston College at home on Tuesday before hosting the Seminoles.

Next: Evaluating remaining ACC schedule for Seminoles

Interesting Fact

The Cavaliers will come to town as one of the top ranked teams in the country – and that is not a good thing for the Seminoles as FSU Basketball has not beaten a top five-ranked team inside the Tucker Center in nearly seven calendar years. That last win came on January 11, 2011 when the Noles took a 66-61 victory from the then top ranked Duke Blue Devils.