Florida State basketball improved its record to .500 with a blowout win over Mississippi Valley State on Friday night. The win snapped a five-game losing streak, and FSU will look to make it two in a row when it hosts the Jacksonville Dolphins (5-7) on Monday night.
It will be the final non-conference game before FSU starts conference play against North Carolina and Duke to end 2025 and start 2026.
FSU will be a massive betting favorite against the Dolphins, who have split two games with FAMU across the way. FSU beat FAMU handily in an exhibition matchup before the season started.
The game will start at 7 p.m. and will air on the ACCNX channel. If you’re local to Tallahassee, you won’t have any problems finding a good seat in the Tucker Center. I know it’s the winter break, but it was embarrassing to see the small crowd in attendance against Mississippi Valley State on TV.
However, I can’t blame anyone who doesn’t want to spend the time to go see a bad product in person. There won’t be much to learn from this game. The hope is that the players will build some confidence, and the young guys will get some valuable minutes to continue their development.
The hope is that the guys will lock in defensively as they did in their last outing. FSU’s defense was atrocious during the five-game losing streak. However, FSU used its defense to generate offense against Mississippi Valley State, which is something it has struggled to do lately.
I’d like to see fewer three-point attempts and more attacking the rim. If FSU can avoid fouling and allowing JU to shoot fewer than 20 foul shots, that would be great.