Happy New Year, everyone. 2019 is over and so is the Florida State football season.
The Seminoles wrapped up a 6-7 campaign on Tuesday with a 20-14 loss to Arizona State in the Sun Bowl. With all five fall sports in the rear view, winter and spring sports are heating up.
For the first time in 2020, here’s what to watch for in FSU athletics over the next week:
1. FSU basketball heads to Louisville for marquee match-up
No. 18 FSU is coming off a 70-58 win over Georgia Tech to improve to 12-2 and 2-1 ACC play. The Seminoles will now have a chance to make a major statement as they hit the road to take on No. 7 Louisville on Saturday. The Cardinals are off to an 11-2 start, but are coming off an overtime loss to rival Kentucky in Lexington. The guy to watch for Louisville is forward Jordan Nwora. Nwora leads the ACC, averaging better than 20 points per game, to go with 7.2 rebounds per contest. Senior center Steven Enoch is a force down low for Louisville while Ryan McMahon has virtually limitless range.
The Seminoles held off Louisville 80-76 thanks to a key late block from Terance Mann in their last trip to the KFC Yum! Center two years ago. FSU rallied from 10 points down in the second half to beat the Cardinals last season in overtime in Tallahassee, 80-75. Devin Vassell and Trent Forrest both average better than 11 points per game for the Seminoles. The teams meet on Saturday at 2 p.m. EST in a contest that airs on ESPN2.
2. FSU women’s hoops hits the road
After improving to 2-0 in ACC play and setting a new program record with a 13th straight victory, eighth-ranked Florida State women’s hoops will hit the road for a pair of contests against Syracuse and Miami. The Seminoles will play Syracuse on Thursday night before visiting the Hurricanes on Sunday. Despite getting nearly 17 points per game from Kiara Lewis, the Orange are just 6-6 on the young season. Miami’s Beatrice Mompremier ranks in the top 10 in the ACC in scoring, rebounds, blocked shots and field goal percentage.
With Sunday’s 86-62 win over Virginia Tech, FSU improved to 13-0 on the young season. Nausia Woolfolk and Kiah Gillespie each average better than 15 points per game for FSU, but River Baldwin and Morgan Jones have come along offensively in recent games. Point guard Nicki Ekhomu averages better than 13 points per game and leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio. No. 23 Miami is off to a 9-3 start. The Seminoles split their two meetings with Miami last season and lost at home to Syracuse. The contest with the Orange begins at 8 p.m. EST and airs on ACC Network. The rivalry showdown in Coral Gables will start at 2 p.m. EST and air regionally on Fox Sports networks.
3. FSU men’s tennis begins season in Bahamas
As one season comes to an end, another will begin on Saturday as Florida State’s men’s tennis team will be in the Bahamas to take on Penn State. Seniors Rana-Roop Singh Bhullar and Alex Knaff return for an FSU team that finished 19-11 last year and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Penn State finished 19-9 last season before also being eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. This will be just the third meeting between the teams and the first since 2002. The previous two were split.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.
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