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FSU Basketball: Thoughts on 2020-2021 schedule and predictions

By Caleb Skinner

TALLAHASSEE, FL - FEBRUARY 15: Malik Osborne #10 of the Florida State Seminoles grabs a rebound over Elijah Hughes #33, Bourama Sidibe #34 and Marek Dolezaj #21 of the Syracuse Orange during the game at the Donald L. Tucker Center on February 15, 2020 in Tallahassee, Florida. Florida State defeated Syracuse 80 to 77. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL - FEBRUARY 15: Malik Osborne #10 of the Florida State Seminoles grabs a rebound over Elijah Hughes #33, Bourama Sidibe #34 and Marek Dolezaj #21 of the Syracuse Orange during the game at the Donald L. Tucker Center on February 15, 2020 in Tallahassee, Florida. Florida State defeated Syracuse 80 to 77. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Conference Opponents

  • Dec. 15 vs. Georgia Tech
  • Dec. 29-30 at Clemson
  • Jan. 2 vs. Duke
  • Jan. 5-6 at Syracuse
  • Jan. 9 at Pittsburgh
  • Jan. 12-13 vs. NC State
  • Jan. 16 vs. North Carolina
  • Jan. 18 at Louisville
  • Jan. 23 vs. Clemson
  • Jan. 26-27 vs. Miami
  • Jan. 30 at Georgia Tech
  • Feb. 2-3 at Boston College
  • Feb. 9-10 at Virginia Tech
  • Feb. 13 vs. Wake Forest
  • Feb. 15 vs. Virginia
  • Feb. 20 vs. Virginia Tech
  • Feb. 23-24 at Miami
  • Feb. 27 at North Carolina
  • March 2-3 vs. Boston College
  • March 6 at Notre Dame

Thoughts

After initially looking over our ACC opponents for the upcoming season, I couldn’t be more thrilled with the way that it turned out. The majority of the “big games” – North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, and Miami – the ‘Noles play this upcoming season are being played at home inside the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, which in my opinion will play a huge part in Florida State’s success as they will be one of the only ACC team’s allowing limited capacity for fans.

The toughest opponent this season will be Virginia. They bring back their entire starting five that was the best defense in the nation last year. What we will need to see out of this Virginia team, however, is if they will be able to improve their abysmal offense from last season – though this always seems to be the case with a Tony Bennett led Cavalier squad.

The next team that comes to mind that can cause problems for the ‘Noles is Duke. Yes, the Blue Devils lost a lot of talent and production from last year’s team in Vernon Carey Jr., Cassius Stanley, and Tre Jones, however that doesn’t matter when it comes to a “blue blood” like Duke. Once again, Coach K has done a fantastic job at recruiting to fill the spaces he needs to compete not only against the upper echelon ACC teams but the greatest teams in the country.

A team I am highly interested in seeing this upcoming year and should be better than they performed last year is the North Carolina Tar Heels. After a down year, which saw Head Coach Roy Williams have the by far the worst season in his career and the team rely way too much on the play of G Cole Anthony, UNC aims to get back to prominence in the ACC with a great recruiting class. The absence of Anthony will be the question mark surrounding this team, but with perhaps the best frontcourt in the ACC they could provide the ultimate challenge for FSU’s “Big Guard University” style of play.

Lastly, the Miami Hurricanes are bound to give FSU Basketball at some point during the season. After an average season, last year that saw their best player deal with injuries throughout, the Hurricanes are expected to try and fight their way into the top tier of the conference. Chris Lykes is a star for this team that returns much of the same team from last year and now has added depth behind them. We saw Lykes and Miami’s backcourt give the ‘Noles fits last year; will it happen again?

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