After four straight wins over in-state opponents, Florida State gets set to wrap up non-conference play on Saturday night as it travels to Starkville to take on Mississippi State.
After a 4-5 start, the Seminoles are now 8-5 following a dramatic 65-63 victory over rival Florida Tuesday night in which a Florida player accidentally tipped in the game-winning shot for FSU. Mississippi State comes in with a record of just 6-6 after dropping its fifth game in six tries on Tuesday night in a 66-47 loss to McNeese State.
The Bulldogs have been dreadful on the offensive end, ranking near the bottom of the country in scoring and assists. Senior Roquez Johnson however, is not to blame. Johnson, a 6’7″ forward, leads the team in rebounds and ranks second in scoring, averaging better than 11 points and nearly six rebounds while shooting 58 percent from the field.
The star for Florida State also stands at 6’7″ in junior Montay Brandon. Brandon led the Seminoles with 17 points in Tuesday’s victory over Florida. Brandon leads FSU averaging 14.1 points and 5.4 rebounds-per-game.
Redshirt freshman guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes is on pace to average more assists than any other Seminole in over a decade. Along with a 11.7 points-per-game average, Rathan-Mayes is averaging nearly five dimes.
The Seminoles play three 7-footers in Boris Bojanovsky, Kiel Turpin and Michael Ojo. Turpin had been coming on for Florida State, but was held scoreless in Tuesday’s victory. Bojanovsky was able to compensate with 10 points.
The trio of Florida State 7-footers likely won’t see Gavin Ware on Friday night. Averaging 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds, Ware has missed the last two games with an ankle injury.
With Ware out, FSU should have a pretty large depth advantage. Seven different ‘Noles average at least six points.
In Ware’s absence, guard Fred Thomas will need to step up for the Bulldogs. Thomas leads the team, averaging 11.3 points-per-game, but is shooting just 39 percent from the field. Thomas was held to just 4 points in Tuesday’s loss.
The contest at Humphrey Coliseum, better known as the “Hump”, will be just the second true road game for Florida State this season. The Seminoles were walloped by Notre Dame in South Bend in their ACC opener back on December 13th.
Florida State will be facing Mississippi State on the hardwood for the first time since the 2007 NIT. The Bulldogs were able to take that match-up in Starkville 86-71 despite a career-high 31 points from FSU guard Isaiah Swann.
Friday’s contest is slated to tip off after 8:00 P.M. eastern time and will be televised on ESPNU.
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