The 2026-27 season is nearly here for the Florida State men's basketball team, with the season officially starting on November 2 against Florida A&M. However, before doing so, the Seminoles will play exhibitions against Auburn and LSU, starting tonight in Birmingham, Alabama.
Florida State will meet Auburn in the Boutwell Auditorium for Ballin in Boutwell, a now annual preseason event. The Seminoles traveled to Birmingham last season for an exhibition against the Alabama Crimson Tide, losing the thrilling battle, 109-105.
Wins and losses are not everything in exhibitions, as most coaches aim to work with different players, lineups, or strategies. However, it is still important for the team to play hard and find success against Auburn, who were picked to finish tenth in the SEC this season. Coach Luke Loucks will be leading his team into battle for Year 2, and a few key issues need to be fixed this season.
1. Reduce defensive breakdowns
In his first season as the coach of Florida State, Loucks' defense allowed 77.9 points per game (T-18th in ACC), while also allowing opponents to convert 44.5% of their field goal attempts. The Seminoles struggled in nearly every defensive category, and opposing teams often had a field day playing against them.
The problems for Florida State started at the boards, with opposing teams snagging 12.3 offensive rebounds and 25.9 defensive rebounds. The Seminoles could not out-rebound their opponents, and that leads to more scoring opportunities against a defense that is already weak.
On offense, Florida State did not have a ton of issues with scoring the basketball, and since they can hold their own, Loucks doesn't need a defensive overhaul to improve, but rather a few tweaks. Losing the rebound battle can happen, but Florida State was often caught off-balance, leading to quick second-chance baskets or scores in transition. Loucks needs to address this and find a way to, at a minimum, limit the damage in those situations.
Unfortunately for the Seminoles, a large number of the defensive breakdowns that occurred last season resulted in three points, which leads us into the next area that needs to be addressed.
2. Eliminate as many open three-point looks as possible on defense
Last season, Florida State allowed opponents to shoot 27 three-point attempts per game, converting 34.6% of the time. Simply put, it was too easy for opposing teams to find open looks from beyond the arc against the Seminoles, and when a stream of three-pointers is raining down, it is hard to pull ahead.
Florida State had a solid perimeter attack a season ago, but the issue was that opposing teams were shooting 1.5% better than them. The team could not keep up with a back-and-forth perimeter battle, and that was largely due to the fact that they had been given opponents better looks at the basket.
Another issue involving the perimeter defense that Florida State had a problem with has to do with closing out on the more important threats. During the 113-69 loss to NC State last season, the Seminoles allowed top three-point threats Matt Able and Paul McNeil Jr. to combine for 10 triples, while shooting 54% from beyond the arc as a team. With a full season under his belt now, those results cannot happen this season for Loucks.
Loucks needs to find a way to confidently close out on perimeter threats without allowing a breakdown elsewhere on defense. It can be a tough task, but Florida State cannot rely on the success of the offense to outweigh some of the defensive miscues.
3. Generate open looks on offense and avoid settling
If there is one thing on offense that stood out the most last season for Florida State, it was the lack of efficiency the team had shooting the basketball. The Seminoles converted 44% of their field goal attempts last season, and 33.1% of their three-point attempts. The team loved shooting three-pointers, with an average of 31.4 attempts per game, but the real problem occurred when there was no clear shot at the basket.
Florida State settled for shots or forced a somewhat-open look when there were better options far too often last season. Additionally, with no formidable presence inside the paint, opposing teams understood where they needed to be on the court. Chauncey Wiggins was Florida State's height last season, and he took an average of nearly six three-point attempts per game.
This season, Loucks has an entirely different team that should offer him more relief on offense inside the perimeter. It is going to be vital for Florida State to find a way to play its offense and take its shots regardless of who the opponent is.
4. Move the ball around consistently and effectively
During Loucks' first year with the team, Florida State averaged 14.3 assists per game, which put them in the middle of the pack in the ACC. The Seminoles blossomed at times, with 19 assists on 30 made baskets during a 91-78 win over SMU, and at other times the team struggled to distribute the wealth.
When Florida State ran into ACC play, the team met a rude awakening as things that were working earlier in the season no longer rendered the same success. Loucks cannot allow his team to hit a wall the same way they did last season, and an important key to stopping that is ball movement.
Florida State finished last season with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.31, and Stanford was the only team in the ACC last season to win 20 games with a lower rate. Moving the basketball and creating better looks at the basket is directly tied to being more successful in the conference, which is a goal Loucks needs to hit this season.
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