Pregame Glance: Florida State

Florida State stops by Columbus to take on the Buckeyes in Value City Arena tomorrow night in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.  The Big Ten is a (not-so) shocking 0-10 in these challenges, but have come close to pulling off the win once or twice recently.  This year is supposed to be the year and Penn State has gotten us started off in the right direction early with the win over Virginia.  Let’s see if that can continue tonight and tomorrow night.

Florida State has played 7 games so far this year, and has only fallen once – to Florida a week ago, the same Florida team that knocked off Michigan State just recently – and also ran the table in the Old Spice Classic played down in Disneyworld at the ESPN Wide World of Sports facility.  That was accomplished with a 1 point victory over a Marquette squad that also took out Michigan in convincing fashion in the semi-finals of that same tournament.  Florida State also came back from 12 down at the half to secure the victory, outscoring Marquette 39-26 in the second half.

FSU is coached by Leonard Hamilton, who has head coaching experience at Oklahoma State (just before Eddie Sutton), Miami (FL) and a one year coaching stint in the NBA before arriving in 2002 at Florida State.  His single year in the NBA, at the helm of the Washington Wizards, wasn’t precisely spectacular as he went 19-63 on the season.  However, we all know that great college coaches don’t necessarily make great pro coaches and vice-versa, so don’t let that color your perceptions of his talents.  He has lead college teams to 9 NIT’s and 4 NCAA tournaments in 20 years of coaching and holds an overall record of 331-306 (131-96 at FS).

This is a very young squad for the Criminals (sorry, sorry, Seminoles…old habits die hard, you know) this year.  Out of 12 players on the roster, only 3 are upperclassmen (Juniors or Seniors) and 4 are freshman.  This is not precisely a team laden with experience.  Their starting lineup is actually comprised of 3 sophomores, a junior and a senior.  Don’t let the youth fool you, however, because this is a pretty skilled team.

Hamilton plays with a traditional lineup composition: 2 guards, 2 forwards and a center.  He also likes to play a very traditional (and, in fact, very classic Big Ten) style of defensive basketball.  You might go so far as to call Florida State the Wisconsin of the ACC.  Hamilton trains his players to limit shooting opportunities for the opponents, crash the boards and slow down the offense.  He definitely doesn’t want to outrace you, he wants to slowly wear you down and take advantage of your mistakes.

Leading this defensive assault in the frontcourt is Sophomore Center Solomon Alabi (7-1, 251).  He isn’t going to explode on the offensive side of the ball, but he will rebound well on both sides of the court.  He’s also a solid shot blocker, averaging just under 3 a game (19 total for the season) and his size forces players to alter their shots in the paint.  Also down low for the Seminoles is Senior Forward Ryan Reid (6-8, 237) who is averaging solid numbers in 20 minutes per outing.  He’s not going to dazzle you, but provides consistent production and helps anchor the team emotionally.

Sophomore Forward Chris Singleton (6-9, 227) is clearly the focal-point of the entire FSU offense averaging about 12 points a game and shooting near 47% from the field, including 46% from three.  His size, along with his ability to drain the long ball, makes him a big matchup problem for most teams and helps to keep the defense honest.  Look for the Buckeyes to stick Turner or Lighty on Singleton, but expect his presence to open up a lot of options for the Seminoles down low.

The ‘Noles backcourt is comprised of Junior Guard Derwin Kitchen (6-4, 198) and Sophomore Guard Deividas Dulkys (6-5, 196).  Both players are capable shooters; but Kitchen spends more time distributing the ball than shooting and Dulkys rides the pine for about half of every game.  Dulkys is FSU’s best 3 point shooter and needs to be watched carefully.

Florida State tends to play about 9 players deep, but no one player really dominates this team like with some teams (Harangody at Notre Dame, for example).  They play a nice style of team ball and like to get everyone involved.  The terrifying aspect of this team is that the shortest player who plays any substantial time is Derwin Kitchen at 6-4.  Everyone else is 6-5 or taller, giving them great advantage in most games down in the paint.  This team is built for a slow paced game.

Hopefully, if the Buckeyes can establish their fast-paced style, they can take advantage of FSU’s size and beat them down the court on the fast breaks.  If the Bucks can keep the game moving quickly, FSU will probably wear out and be forced to sub in the younger players more liberally.  Given OSU’s depth and experience this would be huge for the Buckeyes.

Your starting lineups are as follows.

The game will be played in Value City arena at 9:30 pm tomorrow (Wednesday, December 2nd).  You can see the game on ESPN2.

Note: As of this posting, Northwestern and Purdue have both won their games against the ACC.  Indiana, however, is losing, so the Big Ten will be up 3-1 with North Carolina/Michigan State, and Virginia Tech/Iowa still to play.  The first is a toss-up, and the second will probably go VT’s way.  It’ll be up to Wednesday Night’s games to determine the winner of the Challenge.