FSU Basketball Weekly Preview: November 6th-11th

Here’s a preview of FSU basketball and their upcoming games scheduled for play during the 2018-19 season.

If there was ever a season where the FSU basketball team was not supposed to get as far as they did, it was the 2017-18 season in which the Seminoles went from being a No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament after a rocky end of the season that had them squarely on the bubble of making the big dance to a team within 40 minutes of their first Final Four appearance.

For head coach Leonard Hamilton, the Seminoles were not just a surprise story but a redemption story if you will after underachieving in the tournament one season before. Now, the Noles know that they aren’t going to sneak up on anyone with Terance Mann, Phil Cofer and others returning for the Seminoles this season.

It also won’t be easy for FSU basketball to repeat their success considering the monster schedule they will play both inside and out of the Atlantic Coast Conference – starting off in their first game against their hated foes and a team that has had plenty of success in the postseason.

Here’s our recap of last season’s action and a preview of what’s ahead for the Seminoles.

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Last Season Recap

After starting off last season with a 16-5 record that included wins over Florida and North Carolina teams ranked in the top 12 nationally, FSU basketball hit a bump in the road when they lost six of their final 10 games that included getting knocked out in the first round of the ACC tournament and had some wondering if they would even get into March Madness.

After getting the ninth seed in the West Region, the Seminoles took out No. 8 Missouri pretty easily before avenging their tournament loss from the season before by knocking off the No. 1 seed Xavier Musketeers in what was one of the early upsets of the big dance.

In the Sweet 16, the Noles took care of business in a big way when they knocked off No. 4 seed Gonzaga to advance to just the third Elite Eight in program history. Against No. 3 seed Michigan, the Seminoles were in the game for most of the night before dropping a four-point game that kept them from making just the second Final Four in program history.

Opponent Preview

The action this season for FSU basketball gets underway fast and quick as the No. 15 Seminoles will host the rival Florida Gators on Tuesday in the first season opener between the programs in over a decade. After a 20-12 regular season, Florida was a sixth seed in the NCAA Tournament last season before losing in the second round to Texas Tech.

On Sunday, the Seminoles will hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to New Orleans for a battle with the Tulane Green Wave. The Noles defeated the Green Wave by 19 points last season when the teams met in Tampa as Tulane finished the year with a 14-17 record that included just one win in their final 10 games.

Interesting Fact

The series between FSU basketball and the rival Gators has been one of streaks for over a decade. After the Seminoles won three in a row starting in 2006, Florida turnaround and won five in a row before the Noles came back to break that streak thanks to a tip in from a Florida player at the end of the game.

Since then, the Seminoles have extend that winning streak to four in a row that included a blowout win last year in Gainesville. That four game streak is the longest for the Seminoles in the series history over the Gators.