We are so back.
Florida State (0-0, 0-0 ACC) played Florida A&M (0-0, 0-0 SWAC) in Tampa as part of the Orion180 Tipoff Classic on Monday night. The Seminoles, looking to build on a top-20 recruiting class and start the season off right, did just that, winning 112-69 to move to 1-0.
First Half
It was a disappointing first half if you consider three-pointers. The Seminoles made just three of 12 triples. However, they excelled in virtually every other category. FSU kept their foot on the gas and never looked back,
as there were zero lead changes whatsoever.
Not much to say in terms of this game being competitive; the closest the game got was 13-8. It was all FSU from there on out. Marcis Ponder got seven boards in the first half alone, while also tacking on five two-pointers and five made free throws. He also got the lone block for Florida State.
Second Half
After the poor shooting performance in the first, the second was admittedly better, as they finished at 8/24 for 33% of their made threes. The defense looked like last year’s team but only way better and with more size behind it.
The bench also showed some promise; Brandon Bass Jr. and Martay Barnes led with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Alex Steen was six and seven in points and rebounds (get it?), while Cooper Schwieger scored six points and got two rebounds.
The Seminoles finished with an offensive rating of 142.4 and a defensive efficiency rating of 87.7. Yes, it’s a SWAC non-conference game. Finishing with seven total turnovers is absurd, even against a weaker team. If they keep up this pace, even somewhat against Troy or even Florida, this could be a very scary team.
Players of the Game
Sebastian Rancik was in a league of his own with 25 points in just 27 minutes, a new career high for him. I’d also like to shout out Marcis Ponder for dropping 15 points and 11 rebounds.
What’s Next?
Florida State returns home to Tallahassee for their home opener against the Troy Trojans, a tournament team in 2025, on November 6th. Fans can catch that game on the ACC Network Extra. Then it’s a huge home game against the No. 1 team in the land, *thunder sound effect*, the Florida Gators, followed by a gimme game versus Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
