Florida State will head into Wednesday’s home contest against Wake Forest with a record of just 10-10 and only 2-5 in ACC play. For the Seminoles, the 2014-15 season has been one of frustration and disappointment. The NCAA Tournament looks to be out of reach and at this point, simply making an appearance in the NIT might be a long shot. But while losses have been all too frequent, Leonard Hamilton’s bunch deserves credit for continuing to fight.
The latest example came on Saturday as Florida State was defeated by North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The Seminoles fell 78-74, but battled to the bitter end on the road against an opponent they were seemingly overmatched by. Xavier Rathan-Mayes paced Florida State with 35 points and helped keep the Seminoles close.
Florida State trailed by as many as 11 in the first half and eight in the second, but fought until the final buzzer. There were a number of times that it appeared the Tar Heels would pull away, but with 17 seconds left, Florida State was within three points.
The week prior, FSU displayed a similar effort against N.C. State. Florida State was coming off back-to-back road losses to Syracuse and Pittsburgh and after falling behind by 17 on its own floor to the Wolfpack, FSU was able to claw its way back evening the game on a putback by Brandon Allen with about four minutes to play.
N.C. State finished the game on a 12-3 run to earn a 72-63 victory, but the ‘Noles could have easily rolled over and didn’t. They followed that effort up with their first road victory of the season last Monday at Clemson.
Though it hasn’t translated in many victories, Florida State has shown a mental toughness and resiliency despite having just one scholarship senior on the roster.
Since last season’s leading scorer Aaron Thomas was declared ineligible in mid-December, Florida State has had to patch things together. In fact, it’s been the younger guys who have fueled the Seminoles in recent weeks.
Rathan-Mayes, a redshirt freshman, is coming off the best game of his career in which he set a FSU freshman record with 35 points. On the season, he leads the Seminoles in scoring, assists and steals.
Fellow freshman Phil Cofer has been the most dependable big man for Florida State, averaging better than seven points and nearly five rebounds. Cofer is less than two weeks removed from a career-game in which he finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds at Pittsburgh.
While the freshmen have Florida State looking to a bright future, a pair of juniors have had to assume leadership roles while keeping the wheels from completely falling off.
6’7″ junior Montay Brandon has been the most consistent ‘Nole. Brandon is having a career-year, averaging 13 points on 55 percent shooting and a team-high 5.5 rebounds-per-game. Junior Devon Bookert has come on of late, scoring in double-figures in each of his last four games while making 11 3-pointers during that stretch.
Though it came in defeat, Saturday’s contest against North Carolina showed the Seminoles can on a given day, play with elite competition. Five of Florida State’s final 11 games come against ranked opponents.
Florida State has played much better at home this season with a record of 8-3 as opposed to 2-7 everywhere else. The ‘Noles will host seven of their final 11 regular season games, beginning with a stretch of three straight at home against Wake Forest on Wednesday. If FSU has any hope of avoiding its first losing season in 10 years, it will need to play well over the next week.
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