Florida State walked away with an 84-60 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but the box score only tells part of the story. Luke Loucks’ team is 3-1, and the margin looked comfortable enough, yet the Seminoles left with the same nagging issue that has followed them for two straight games: the three-point shot is nowhere near where it needs to be.
The Seminoles shot 37% overall and just 10% from deep, hitting only two threes against the Islanders. That came on the heels of a rough showing against Florida, when Florida State shot 19% from three. Across the last two games, the Seminoles are 6-for-42 from beyond the arc, and for now there is no easy fix besides waiting for the shots to start falling.
That problem was part of the concern before the season even tipped off. Loucks did not bring in a proven three-point specialist, or really multiple players with a track record of consistent success from outside.
Sebastian Rancik has the best three-point percentage on the 2025-26 roster at 33.1%, but there’s a catch there too. Rancik is at his best when he’s using his physical tools, and parking him on the perimeter takes away one of his biggest strengths.
He also took two fewer attempts per game this year than he did in 2025-26, and he looks more effective when the game comes to him instead of when he tries to force the issue.
If Florida State is going to clean this up, it has to happen soon. Right now, the Seminoles are not reliably knocking down open looks, and that puts even more pressure on players like Shon Abaev.
Abaev has had a rough stretch over the last two games, going 6-for-22 from the field and 1-for-9 from three against Florida and Texas A&M-CC. He still put up 19 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals, but the efficiency has not been there. After his explosive exhibition performance against LSU, it looked like he might be ready to take a real step forward.
That hasn’t fully happened yet. Abaev struggled as a freshman at Cincinnati, shooting 33.5% from the field and 25.7% from three in 24 games.
Through four games this season, he’s at 31.6% from the field and 21.4% from three, while taking 6.2 more shots per game. He is making progress in other areas, though, and is on pace for new career highs in assists and steals.
The challenge is that he still has to find a steadier scoring rhythm and stop forcing shots when he tries to answer a miss too quickly.
The larger question around this Florida State team is how high the ceiling really is. After the loss to Florida, Todd Golden said the Seminoles had the talent to sneak into the rankings, and even in that game they showed they could go toe-to-toe with the top program in the country. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is not that kind of opponent, but it is a team that does not make life easy defensively.
Florida State did not need a bigger win to make its point. Still, the shooting issues stood out, and with an ACC schedule ahead, the Seminoles will need every weapon they can get.
Loucks won 10 ACC games last season, a program record for a first-year head coach, but that number probably won’t be enough to get Florida State into the NCAA Tournament. For now, this looks like a team with ranked potential.
The bigger version of it may only show up once the pieces start clicking.
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 🡒]