The murderers row for Florida State of facing six ranked ACC teams is officially over. The final two games against Notre Dame and Louisville were both exciting victories for FSU as the Seminoles now sit at 18-2 and are ranked sixth nationally.
In a 6-game stretch, where many thought FSU might (optimistically) go 2-4, it instead racked up five ranked wins. The great news continues: it gets easier from here on out, with trips to Georgia Tech and Syracuse closing out the January schedule.
After that, the Seminoles only face two more teams that are currently ranked. They don’t have to face North Carolina again until at least the ACC Tournament. One downside is that they only have four more home games, but the weaker opponents does alleviate some of the challenge.
Racking up quality wins at this point in the season is absolutely crucial for when March Madness comes around. Here’s some perspective:Â FSU could stumble to a 5-6 finish in its final 11 regular season games, and would still hold a 23-8 record with an 11-7 mark in the toughest basketball conference in the nation.
Obviously such a finish would be concerning, but the Seminoles would still likely get a favorable seed in the tournament. Even in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings, Florida State still retains five top 25 wins. Had the Seminoles played more to expectations, they would have needed a fairly impressive run at the end of the season to strengthen their resume’.
Right now, Florida State is likely to finish 7-4 or 8-3 in its 11 remaining regular season games. Going to Notre Dame and Duke will always be tough games, and teams like N.C. State have the talent to beat any team in the nation.
“We didn’t expect to win every game,” FSU sophomore guard Dwayne Bacon reiterated after last week’s 83-80 win over Notre Dame. “We were going to try…there was going to be adversity, that was some of the adversity there that hit us.”
That’s a good mentality to have. Whereas past FSU teams might be down after a loss or put all its eggs in one basket, this year’s squad recognizes that all great teams lose.
Coach Leonard Hamilton knows this too.
“We don’t want to get drunk on success,” Hamilton said following an 88-72 win over Duke earlier this month. “We want to just stay focused and not allow ourselves to get caught up in anything other than trying to be as prepared as we can for each game.”
Jonathan Isaac, who had disappeared during a stretch in parts of December and took a while to get going against Duke on Jan. 10, has vigorously assumed his role as a future NBA player. The 6-10 freshman forward has recorded three straight double-doubles against North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Louisville, and that includes nine blocks in the same stretch.
Isaac has transformed right before fan’s eyes, touting scoring ability with defensive presence. Some concerns had arisen after Isaac failed to make a big impact in the previous ranked contests. These fears have officially subsided, as Isaac is finally confident in his ability to take over a game when his team needs him to.
Xavier Rathan-Mayes did that during the 2014-15 campaign. Bacon already reached that point last year. Now, Florida State has three players who can be called upon to do so.
The pieces are all there for the Seminoles to make a run in not just the ACC Tournament, but the NCAA Tournament as well. Even a decent finish to the season will build hype for what may turn out to be the greatest FSU team in 45 years or maybe ever. If Hamilton is able to hammer that into his team, they’ll be just fine from here on out.
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