It certainly was not pretty, but Luke Loucks and the Florida State men's basketball team improved to 3-1 on the season with an 84-60 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. A 24-point win may not look like a bad performance, but the score does not show the full picture.
The Seminoles shot 37% from the floor as a team, but just 10% from three-point range, sinking two long-range buckets against the Islanders. The team had an equally concerning performance in the previous game against Florida, shooting 19%. Florida State has gone 6-for-42 from three in the last two games, which is a bit concerning since there is not a real solution at the moment aside from hoping the shots drop.
Luke Loucks needs to find a way to fix Florida State's three-point problems
One big concern surrounding the Seminoles heading into the season involved the team's efficiency from long range. Loucks did not necessarily bring in a three-point specialist, or even multiple players with notable success in the past from beyond the arc. Sebastian Rancik has the best three-point percentage from the 2025-26 season, hitting 33.1% of his attempts.
The issue is that Rancik is a very physical athlete, and keeping him out on the perimeter means he cannot use his best skills on offense. A key difference between the 2025-26 season and this year as well is that Rancik took two fewer attempts per game. Rancik is better from beyond the arc when he is taking what is given to him instead of forcing the shots.
Loucks needs to find a way to find Florida State's three-point troubles quickly, especially since the team currently cannot reliably hit open looks. The potential answer might be another starter who is struggling to find his footing in Shon Abaev.
Shon Abaev might need more time before settling in
The last two games have not been the best for Florida State, and the games have been especially difficult for Abaev. The forward went 6-for-22 from the field and one-for-nine from beyond the arc against Florida and Texas A&M-CC. Abaev recorded 19 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
You can't expect someone to be perfect all of the time, but Abaev looked like he might turn a corner this season after an explosive exhibition performance against LSU. The forward struggled as a freshman with Cincinnati, shooting 33.5% from the field and 25.7% from three in 24 games. This season, through four games, Abaev is shooting 31.6% and 21.4% from three-point range while attempting 6.2 more shots per game.
Abaev is becoming a more improved player in a lot of ways, with the forward on track to record new career-highs in assists and steals this season. The issue is that Abaev is still struggling to find ways to consistently score and avoid forcing shots to try to battle back quickly. Those are tough tendencies to break, and it might take longer than expected for him to do so.
What is the true ceiling for the Florida State team?
After the hard-fought loss to Florida, coach Todd Golden praised the Seminoles and stated that the team has the talent to sneak into the rankings. Florida State did not have the cleanest performance, but the team still managed to stand toe-to-toe with the top program in the country.
The Islanders are not the strongest team, but the team rarely allows opponents to completely run through their defense. Florida State didn't necessarily need to win by a larger margin, but the three-point shooting in particular was worrisome, and the Seminoles need every possible weapon to navigate a difficult ACC schedule this season.
Loucks won 10 ACC games last season, which is a program record for a first-year head coach, but 10 conference wins will likely not be enough to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. This might be a possible ranked-caliber team at the moment, but the full potential of the squad could be much higher if things begin to fully click.
Add us as a preferred source on Google