The Daily Nole

Five Reasons FSU’s Road Woes Are Exaggerated

Jeff Romance/FSU athletics

Much has been made of late about Florida State’s road struggles. While FSU is a perfect 16-0 at the Donald L. Tucker Center this season, it is just 2-4 on the road with all six of those games coming in ACC play.

Though the Seminoles have left something to be desired when playing away from the friendly confines of Tallahassee, one shouldn’t be overly concerned about FSU’s struggles elsewhere. Here are five reasons why:

1. The ACC is tough
According to the Ratings Power Index (RPI), the ACC is the best conference in the country. With six teams currently ranked and as many as 11 slated to make the NCAA Tournament, making it through the ACC is a struggle. That’s especially true on the road. Prior to Notre Dame’s victory at Boston College on Tuesday night, only Louisville and Virginia had winning road records in conference.

2. There are no true road games in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments
After a 4-year hiatus, Florida State looks like a shoo-in to return to the NCAA Tournament. With just five games remaining in the regular season, the Seminoles are almost done playing road games. All games in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments are on neutral courts. On neutral courts this season, FSU is 3-1.

3. FSU is likely destined for Orlando
Currently slated by experts as either a No. 2 or a No. 3 seed, Florida State looks to be headed to Orlando for the first two games of the NCAA Tournament. To get there, the Seminoles will likely need to be seeded as a No. 4 or better. While FSU is just 2-4 on the road and 5-5 away from Tallahassee, the Seminoles are a perfect 18-0 in the state of Florida this season.

4. FSU’s road losses are to good teams
While some have labeled losses to the likes of Georgia Tech and Syracuse as “embarrassing”, those two defeats have come to pretty good teams, especially at home. Until Monday when they fell in overtime to Louisville, the Orange had not lost at home this season in ACC play. That includes a win over Virginia. With under two minutes to play in the Jan. 28 contest, FSU was down by just two points. Georgia Tech beat the Seminoles pretty handily on Jan. 25, 78-56. The Yellow Jackets however, also have home victories over North Carolina and Notre Dame. FSU was in its Jan. 14 loss to North Carolina in the final minutes. The Tar Heels have yet to lose at home. Notre Dame is currently a top-25 team.

5. FSU’s two road wins are quality
While it’s easy to focus on Florida State’s 2-4 road record, the two ACC victories on the road for the Seminoles are good ones. FSU’s 60-58 victory over Virginia on Dec. 31 serves as the Cavaliers’ only home loss in conference. The Seminoles’ 75-57 win at Miami on Feb. 1 was the largest margin of defeat for the Hurricanes this season. It also came on the same floor where Miami had handily defeated North Carolina just four days prior.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply