Luke Loucks will be one of six seniors playing his final game at the Tucker Center on Sunday. (Photo: Dennis Adair/dbadair on flickr)
Florida State has lost consecutive games for the first time since late December, but will look to get back on track as they travel to Virginia before closing the regular season at home against Clemson. The Seminoles are coming off of a 74-66 loss at home to Duke and a 78-62 loss at Miami. FSU has fallen to 22nd in each of the major polls this week and has dropped to 29th in the RPI. Overall, Florida State is 19-9 and 10-4 in ACC play. A win in one of its final two regular season games will clinch a 20-win-season for the ‘Noles and a bye in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
Florida State will visit Virginia on Wednesday. The Seminoles defeated Virginia 58-55 in a tightly contested game in Tallahassee back on February 4th. The Cavaliers are 8-6 in the ACC and 21-7 overall and are led by forward Mike Scott, who averages just under 17 points-per-game and just over 8 rebounds. Senior Day will be on Sunday for the ‘Noles as they take on the Clemson Tigers. FSU opened ACC play at Clemson and suffered an embarrassing 79-59 defeat back on January 7th. Florida State has gone just 1-4 in its last five meetings with Clemson while winning six straight against Virginia.
A Look Back
February 23rd – Duke 74 Florida State 66
Andre Dawkins scored 22 points and Austin Rivers added 20 as Duke defeated Florida State to salvage a spilt in the season series and avoid losing three straight to the ‘Noles. FSU trailed by as many as 12 and twice closed to within three in the game’s final five minutes, but were unable to get any closer. Michael Snaer led Florida State with 18 points while Bernard James finished a rebound shy of a double-double, scoring 13 points and recording 9 rebounds.
February 26th – Florida State 62 Miami 78
Miami ended the first half on a 13-2 run to take a 24-20 halftime lead and never looked back. Florida State trailed by 17 midway through the second half and could get no closer than seven as the Hurricanes snapped a six-game-losing skid to the Seminoles. Michael Snaer led all scorers with 20 points while Ian Miller added 12 and Deividas Dulkys 10 for FSU. Four Miami players scored in double-figures led by Durand Scott, who finished with 17.
Seminole Trends
‘Noles Close to Clinching a Bye
Florida State is currently third in the ACC and will have an excellent opportunity to clinch a bye in next week’s conference tournament. FSU can clinch that bye with a win in either of its two remaining regular season games, or with a loss by either Miami or Virginia. Miami visits NC State on Wednesday before closing with Boston College. The Seminoles visit Virginia on Thursday before the Cavaliers close at Maryland on Sunday.
Sunday is Senior Day for Super Senior Class
Sunday will be the final game at the Donald L. Tucker Center for six Florida State seniors. Jeff Peterson will have spent just one season in Tallahassee after stints at Iowa and Arkansas. Big men Bernard James and Jon Kreft will each have spent two years at Florida State University after playing two years of JUCO ball. Deividas Dulkys, Xavier Gibson and Luke Loucks will each be completing his fourth year at FSU. In all likelihood, the Seminoles are NCAA bound, which would make this Florida State senior class the only senior class in FSU history to reach the NCAA Tournament in four straight years.
Gibson in a Scoring Slump
Senior forward Xavier Gibson is averaging 7.1 points-per-game for the Seminoles this season, but has been in a scoring slump of late. Gibson scored in double-figures in nine of FSU’s first 22 games, but has gone nearly a month without doing so. In his last six games, Gibson has failed to score more than 6 in any of them. Gibson’s last double-digit effort came against Virginia on February 4th. He’ll have an opportunity to snap the streak as Florida State visits the Cavaliers on Thursday night.
A Look Ahead
at Virginia
Thursday, March 1st
7:00 P.M. EST (ESPN2)
Clemson
Sunday, March 4th
12:00 P.M. EST (ESPN2)
