Florida State looks to improve to 2-0 in the revamped Donald L. Tucker Center on Tuesday night as it plays host to Northeastern.
Florida State struggled early on in its season-opener against Manhattan before cruising to an 81-66 victory over the Jaspers. FSU was able to take control of the game with a balanced scoring effort on an afternoon in which the Seminoles shot nearly 58 percent from the floor.
Junior guard Aaron Thomas led the Seminoles with 14 points in the season-opener while the front-line of Kiel Tupin, Jarquez Smith and Montay Brandon were very efficient, combining to shoot 12-for-15 from the field for 38 points.
Despite Turpin’s solid 13-point showing, Florida State’s other two 7-footers, Boris Bojanovsky and Michael Ojo, were each held scoreless. The Seminoles were outrebounded as well.
Another area in which the Seminoles will need to improve is taking care of the ball. Junior guard Devon Bookert finished with a team-high 6 of Florida State’s 21 total turnovers in the opener, but did lead the Seminoles with five assists.
Bookert was the hero when Florida State and Northeastern met last season in the third place game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan. His short jumper with less than a second remaining was the game-winner in a 62-60 FSU victory.
The game will also be the second of the year for Northeastern, who opens its season on Sunday against Boston University. Despite playing the Seminoles tough a season ago, the Huskies finished just 11-21 overall and 7-9 in Colonial Athletic Association play.
Northeastern however, does return its top three scorers including senior forward Scott Eatherton, who led the team in scoring and rebounding last year with nearly 16 points and better than 10 rebounds-per-game. Eatherton shot 54 percent from the floor for the year and put forward an outstanding 21-point, 15-rebound effort in last November’s loss to the Seminoles.
6’6″ junior guard David Walker is also a big playmaker. Walker was second on the team last year, averaging 11.5 points-per-game and led the squad in assists with 2.6 per contest.
With a victory, Florida State would improve to 2-0 for a second straight season. The Seminoles won their first four games last year. Tuesday’s match-up will tip off just after 7:00 P.M. eastern time, but will not be televised.
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