After a pair of home victories over Nicholls State and Jacksonville, Florida State will leave the comforts of the Donald L. Tucker Center for the first time this season as it heads to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam, beginning on Friday.
The first of three opponents FSU will face in the U.S. Virgin Islands is Hofstra, who comes in with a record of 2-0. The Pride have been led by a balanced attack with six players currently averaging 12.5 points or better. Leading returning scorer Juan’ya Green and fellow guard Brian Bernardi are tied for the team-lead with 16.5 points-per-game. Green also leads Hofstra with 9.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game through two games.
Malik Nichols and Ameen Tanksley, each big senior guards, are both averaging 14.5 points while up front, Rokas Gustys and Denton Koon are each averaging 12.5 points. Gustys is also averaging 13 rebounds per contest, which ranks 11th nationally.
It has been the freshmen early on that have propelled the Seminoles. Dwayne Bacon is averaging 25 points — good for 18th in the country — and 8.5 rebounds through two games. At guard, Malik Beasley has scored 21 points in each of his first two games as a Seminole, while shooting 7-for-10 from deep.
Returning leading scorer Xavier Rathan-Mayes is averaging 12 points after scoring in double-figures in each of his first two games while shooting 53 percent from the field. Rathan-Mayes is also averaging a team-high 8 assists per contest.
Friday’s game between Florida State and Hofstra will begin at 3:30 P.M. eastern time and air on the CBS Sports Network. Based on the results of the contest, FSU will face either South Carolina or DePaul on Saturday.
Laimonas Chatkevicius, a 6’11” senior, leads South Carolina with an average of 20 points-per-game while shooting nearly 64 percent from the field. Junior Duane Notice is scoring 16 points-per-game while Sindarius Thornwell and Mindaugas Kacinas each average in double-figures while leading the team in assists and rebounds, respectively.
DePaul is off to a 1-1 start after defeating Western Michigan and losing to Penn State. Senior forward Myke Henry and junior guard Billy Garrett Jr. have combined to average 32.5 points-per-game this season. Henry has shot 81 percent from the field. Tommy Hamilton IV, a 6’11” junior center, is averaging 9 points and a team-high 8 rebounds.
Florida State will play its final game in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Monday against either Indiana State (1-1), Norfolk State (1-1), Ohio (2-0) or Tulsa (2-0). All games will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.
Featured image courtesy of Florida State athletics
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