Luke Loucks will get a chance for his first signature win at Florida State as FSU men’s hoops (2-0) hosts the #1 team in the country, Florida (2-0), on Tuesday night.
According to FanDuel, FSU is a 10.5-point underdog.
A season ago, the Seminoles almost shocked UF in Gainesville but fell 78-76, as Florida State has not beaten the Gators in men’s hoops since the 2020-2021 season. Even during the Seminoles’ turnaround last season, they didn’t pick up a ranked win, and there’s no better time for Loucks’
squad to deliver than Tuesday night.
While there is no doubt the Gators are a phenomenal basketball team, Florida State has tons of momentum heading into the Sunshine State Showdown. The Noles have won their opening games of the season by 23 points or more — albeit against lesser competition — along with two preseason wins against Auburn and LSU. In those two regular-season wins, FSU has dominated on the glass and at the free-throw line, something Loucks stressed he wanted to improve in the offseason. In the season opener versus FAMU, the Noles won the rebounding margin 47-25 while going to the line 34 times. That trend continued against Troy, where Florida State out-rebounded the Trojans by 25 while taking a staggering 39 free throws.
However, there is a reason Loucks talks about wanting to build his team as Todd Golden did, and not many teams in the country rebound or get to the line better than Florida. In the 2025-26 season, the Gators led the country in offensive rebounds and total rebounds per game and ranked 21st in free-throw attempts per game. Florida should be near the top of those rankings again this season, as the Gators brought back frontcourt stars Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, and Rueben Chinyelu.
That Florida frontcourt, along with the Gators’ depth, makes Tuesday a measuring-stick game for Loucks’ team. The FSU head coach tried to redo his size this offseason, and Florida State is one of the bigger teams in the country, led by 7’0”, 285-pound freshman Marcis Ponder. But whether Ponder can hang tough against three NBA-worthy players will be one of the main questions in deciding whether the Seminoles are in the fight against Florida.
Notes to know:
- Loucks has not only changed the program on the court, but he has also reignited the Seminole fan base. In the offseason, Loucks hosted members of Florida State Greek Life and has continued building connections with the fan base early in the year. During the preseason matchup against LSU, he paid for the first 500 beers of the Seminole fans. This past week, FSU basketball did a neat new promotion called Coaches Couch Talk, where Loucks answered questions from students on campus. All of that has led to the Noles selling out their student section against Troy and now having a White Out against Florida on Tuesday.
- Florida State men’s hoops is on a long drought without beating a top-10-ranked team. The last time the Noles took down a top-10 squad was in 2021-2022 against Duke in overtime. Since then, FSU has played a top-10 team eight times and has lost all of them. If Florida State wants to elevate to the next tier of CBB programs, they need a seismic win. A victory on Tuesday would count as that.
Players to know:
- F Thomas Haugh: Haugh could have been a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but chose to come back to school as one of the most expensive players in the sport. The Pennsylvania native earned AP All-American honors last season after leading Florida in scoring with 17.1 points a game.
- F Alex Condon: Like Haugh, Condon would be an NBA player right now if not for a lucrative contract to return to Gainesville. The Australian native impacts the game at all levels, leading Florida in blocks last season while also averaging over three assists per game.
Florida State Seminoles vs. Florida Gators: How to watch, stream, odds
Date
- Tuesday, November 10th
Time
- 6 p.m. ET
Watch/Stream
- Channel: ESPN2
- Stream: ESPN+
Listen
- Seminole Sports Network
- FSU Broadcast: Ch. 371/SXM App
Spread
- +10.5, FSU
