Florida State gets right back to work Friday night, and the assignment looks manageable on paper. After pushing No.
1 Florida before falling 81-72, the Seminoles return to the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center to face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with a chance to steady themselves and clean up some of the issues that showed up in Tuesday’s loss.
Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. ET on ACC Network Extra, giving FSU fans an early appetizer before the Florida State football team kicks off at 7 p.m.
ET at Pitt. The Seminoles enter at 2-1, while the Islanders arrive in Tallahassee at 2-1 as well, riding two straight wins after opening the season with a loss to Texas State.
The Florida game gave Luke Loucks plenty to like and plenty to fix. His team traded punches with the top-ranked Gators in a game that featured eight lead changes, all of them in the first half. Florida State got within one point but never quite got over the hump.
Even with the final result, Loucks saw enough to believe his group can take something from the performance.
"With how many mistakes we made, and we still only lost by single digits to the No. 1 team in the country," Loucks said.
He was even more direct about the bigger picture.
“I think we could’ve won that game,” Loucks said. “We should have a ton of confidence in what we’re building”
The numbers from Tuesday tell the story of how close FSU came without playing its cleanest game. The Seminoles got only six points from the bench, hit just 19% from three, and attempted 23 fewer free throws than Florida. The Gators went 30-for-41 at the line, while Florida State finished 14-for-18.
That’s why this matchup with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi feels like a good reset opportunity. The Islanders rank 242nd in Division I in scoring at 74.7 points per game, and their offense runs through Demond Kent Jr., who leads the team with 10.3 points per game. Daniel Michelini-Jackson and center Lamin Foon are right behind him at 10 points per game apiece.
Florida State, meanwhile, has been putting up points at a much higher clip. The Seminoles rank 50th in Division I at 92 points per game, with Sebastian Rancik leading the way at 22 points per game. He just posted a team-high 23 against Florida and has quickly become a major piece for Loucks after the transfer forward’s long path to Tallahassee, one that included a conversation with his mother in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Anthony Robinson II is next on the scoring list for FSU at 13.7 points per game, followed by Kam Taylor at 13.3.
What Loucks is still chasing is more production from the second unit. Florida State has had trouble getting scoring once the starters sit, and the bench numbers have been thin: six points against Florida, 22 against Troy and 36 against Florida A&M. That’s the area Loucks will be watching most closely as the Seminoles try to bounce back and keep building momentum.
In Other News...
Florida State Won Again But A Bigger Problem Is Already Emerging
Florida State kept rolling with an 84-60 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, moving to 3-1 under first-year coach Luke Loucks, but the box score did not exactly read like a clean offensive breakthrough. Sebastian Rancik led the Seminoles with 17 points and eight rebounds, giving them a steady presence inside while the rest of the attack worked through another uneven night.
The bigger concern was the perimeter game, where Florida State connected on just 2 of 21 three-point attempts. Loucks has already pointed to the need for sharper offense as the season moves forward, and while the Seminoles have the record they want for now, the shooting numbers suggest there is still plenty to sort out before the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Suddenly Has Life Again Under Rick Stockstill
Florida State found a way to steady itself in a 16-10 win over Pittsburgh, and it did so with the kind of formula that can keep a season from slipping away. Ashton Daniels managed the offense for 163 passing yards, Gabe Panikowski supplied three field goals, and the defense did its part by making the game uncomfortable from start to finish, including a key interception by Rylan Kennedy.
For a team that needed a response, this was the sort of performance that can change the mood around a program, even if it did not come with much flair. Pittsburgh never got comfortable against Florida States defense, as Corey Dailey finished 16 of 34 for 157 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and the Seminoles walked away with a win that felt bigger than the scoreboard alone. [Read more 🡒]
FSU Has A Postgame Travel Concern Fans Will Want To Watch
Florida State made its trip to Pittsburgh a day early, and that timing may end up mattering more than usual. The Seminoles charter flight to get to the game was not affected by Fridays nationwide ground stop, which the FAA put in place after a communications failure hit Air Route Traffic Control Centers and halted departing flights until further notice.
The immediate concern now is the return leg after the game, with the team monitoring whether the travel disruption could spill into its postgame plans. For a program on the road for a conference matchup, even a delay on the back end can turn a routine trip into something worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]