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FSU Basketball: Impact of postponed games due to COVID-19

By Caleb Skinner

SUNRISE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 21: Head coach Leonard Hamilton of the Florida State Seminoles looks on against the South Florida Bulls during the second half of the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic at BB&T Center on December 21, 2019 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 21: Head coach Leonard Hamilton of the Florida State Seminoles looks on against the South Florida Bulls during the second half of the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic at BB&T Center on December 21, 2019 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Consistency is key leading into post-season play

After Florida State’s first COVID break of the season in early January, the team came out scorching hot, which is not what fans of college basketball have seen from most teams that dealt with similar situations.  The five-game winning streak after the postponement started with a 105-73 (32 point) shellacking of NC State, a monster slam by Malik Osborne vs. Louisville, and ended with a strong W over rival Miami.

That streak came to a screeching halt when the Noles went up to Atlanta to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in their most recent game on January 30th. From the start, everyone noticed that we were in for a long game that Georgia Tech ended up winning by eleven points.

Scottie Barnes and MJ Walker both had their worst games of the season and that can’t happen as they usually demand respect and show up at their respective guard positions.

Now, I’m not placing blame on just those two players. The team as a whole looked out of sync and could never get a rhythm going. And then, more pauses in the schedule due to COVID-19. Perhaps coming back from this pause will look exactly like the first one where the Noles suffered a loss to Clemson before and came out hot, but from the looks of it, based on what we have seen from around the nation, this will not be the case.

Leonard Hamilton’s have style fans have become familiar with: athletic, defense first, get out and run. However, FSU fans have grown accustomed to the team playing up and down to their competition. This tendency can and will be a huge problem if these pauses in play continue to happen for the Noles.

It’s an issue you have to hope disappears as the season progresses without any interruption. COVID, unfortunately, is the ultimate interruption that will become the ultimate challenge for this FSU basketball team.

Seven games remain in the regular season. If the Noles can avoid game postponements play and play up to their potential? There should be no reason for this team to not make noise when it comes to tournament time.

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