Florida State men’s basketball (13-13, 6-7) looks to continue its recent hot stretch of play against the Clemson Tigers (20-7, 10-4) on the road on Saturday.
The Seminoles are winners of six of their last eight after a second-half comeback against woeful Boston College at home on Tuesday. Luke Loucks’ team has vaulted itself from on the cut line of the ACC tournament to being in contention for a bye. Even though the Eagles are struggling right now, the mentality and effort FSU displayed to will themselves back into the game displayed how far this team has come this season.
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On the other side of the floor, the Tigers are coming into this matchup playing their worst basketball of the season. Clemson has lost three in a row, including a defeat to Wake Forest in its last time out, after previously reeling off a four-game winning streak and earning a now-removed No. 20 ranking in the AP poll.
Florida State Seminoles vs. Clemson: How to watch
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Notes to know:
As mentioned in the open, Florida State’s ACC tournament fortunes have been flipped around since its win against Miami on January 20th. To open today’s game, the Seminoles are in 9th place in the conference, and four games up on the 16th-place BC, with five games to play and the winner of the tiebreaker. The focus now shifts from whether FSU can make the tournament to whether it can earn a bye in the ACC postseason. The Noles are currently tied with Cal, a game back of SMU, and only a half game up on Virginia Tech and Syracuse. With as condensed as the standings are in the middle, every game matters from here on out to secure a spot in the second round.
This series has been dominated by Clemson in recent memory, as the Noles have lost their last six against the Tigers and have not defeated CU in South Carolina since the 2018-2019 season. However, Loucks is changing the Florida State basketball program before our eyes and will not be daunted by history.
Players to know:
F RJ Godfrey: Godfrey took a unique path to get back to Clemson for his senior season. The forward spent his first two seasons playing for Brad Brownell before transferring to Georgia for his junior year. However, in the offseason, he transferred back to the Tigers and now leads CU in scoring (11.4) and averages over five rebounds per game.
G Dillon Hunter: Hunter is one of the last of a dying breed, as the senior guard has spent all four seasons of his collegiate career at Clemson. The Atlanta native slowly worked his way from a reserve to the main ball-handler in his final year of eligibility as Hunter leads the Tigers in minutes and assists (3.0).
