FSU basketball opened a lot of eyes when they went on the road to defeat the Clemson Tigers on Saturday afternoon as +8.5 underdogs. FSU had beaten Virginia Tech the week before, but folks still were not believers in what FSU had been doing over the past few games.
The fact that they were sizable underdogs against Clemson was telling, but that win provided significant validation for what Luke Loucks is building. FSU will have a chance to make two major statements this week when it hosts the rival Miami Hurricanes.
FSU has already upset the Hurricanes earlier this season, winning by two points on the road last month. FSU sweeping the Canes when they are near the top of the ACC would be major, but it’ll also be major because a prized recruit will officially visit FSU for that game.
Four-star guard Martay Barnes announced plans to reclassify to the 2026 class and is down to Auburn and FSU. FSU will have the final official visit, with Barnes visiting Auburn for its loss against Kentucky over the weekend.
FSU has the No. 11-ranked recruiting class in 2026 and has already signed a couple of guards. Auburn only had one signee in its 2026 recruiting class, and both programs have coaches in their first season.
However, Luke Loucks probably has the bigger cache since Steven Pearl has been handed everything to him from his dad, former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. Loucks actually played college ball at FSU, played professionally overseas, and coached in the NBA.
We’ll see how this shakes out, but FSU putting on a great performance against Miami should be helpful in landing Barnes.
FSU and Miami will tip-off at 9 p.m. on the ACC Network.