Luke Loucks and Florida State basketball are hoping the 2026-27 season will be one of the best by a second-year coach in program history.
The foundation is there: a top 20 recruiting class, several proven transfers, and a coach with such youthful energy. Despite all of this, they will face an uphill battle in the hyper-competitive ACC.
USA TODAY Sports released a preseason poll for the conference, and the Seminoles debuted at No. 8 out of 18. FSU is ahead of NC State, which is two years removed from a Final Four appearance, as well as Syracuse, SMU, Stanford, Pittsburgh, California, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Boston College, and Georgia Tech.
At No. 1 was this year's top seed, Duke, unanimously, followed by Virginia, Louisville, Miami, and North
Carolina. All of whom were tournament teams in 2026.
Loucks and the Seminoles will look to do better than eighth this year, and they'll have the opportunity to do so when their first game tips off against Florida A&M in the Orion180 Tip-Off Classic in Tampa on Nov. 2.
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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: FSU's ranking in USA TODAY Sports preseason ACC basketball poll
