Florida State's men's basketball program traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, to face the No. 25 ranked Cardinals. The Seminoles were winners of three of their past four games over Miami, Wake Forest, and Notre Dame. The blowout loss to Clemson at home is sandwiched between them.
Unfortunately, Florida State lost to Louisville by a score of 89-81 on Saturday afternoon. Guard Chucky Hepburn had 29 points. The most frustrating part about Hepburn's performance was that he went 17 for 19 at the free throw line. However, guard J'Vonne Hadley had 18 points and 11 rebounds. It was a frustrating performance all around.
Once again, guard Jamir Watkins and forward Malique Ewin had themselves a game where they combined for 42 points. It feels like Watkins and Ewin had done a majority of the grunt work when it comes to the scoring efforts this season.
As we know, the head basketball coach Leonard Hamilton will not be returning to the Seminoles after this season. Coach Hamilton has done more with less when it comes to this program. This year looks like a wash as the Seminoles currently have a 16-11 overall record (7-9 in conference). I once thought that there was a small chance for the NCAA Tournament, but that notion is long gone now.
The Seminoles must play North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, and SMU to finish the year. It isn't out of the question to suggest they could go winless in that stretch (I hope not).
Coaching candidates that continue to be circulated amongst the general public are Sacramento Kings assistant coach Luke Loucks and Boston Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell.
Personally, Florida State is currently a mid-tier ACC program trying to navigate its way around a conference that is known for possessing powerhouses North Carolina and Duke. The only way that the Seminoles can get themselves out of the mess that they are in is by putting more emphasis on the basketball program and giving them more resources.
However, I get it... football is the "money maker". Even with the program's 2-10 record in 2024, all of the attention has been on them. If football does well, all of the sports have a better chance of getting more resources. This is not to say that other programs should just fend for themselves.
This is a pivotal time for athletic director Michael Alford to ensure that men's basketball gets the right hire like the baseball program did with Link Jarrett and soccer did with Brian Pensky. It has to create excitement because the expectation is to make the NCAA Tournament.