Florida St. really good/underrated

[houstondukie]

I know FSU has been a good team all season long, and is probaby a lock for the ncaa tourney this season (for the first time in a long time), but they really impress me on paper too. How is this team not ranked? In fact, they should be a top 20 team in my opinion.

21-6 (overall)
8-4 (ACC, second place)
RPI 16

Key Wins:
H: #21 Florida, Miami, Maryland
N: Cincinatti, California
A: #10 Clemson, VaTech, NC State

Losses:
H: #2 DUKE (-8), #3 Pittsburgh (-8), #6 UNC (-3)
A: #8 Wake Forest (-23), Miami (-6), Northwestern (-14)

Only the loss @Northwestern is a bad loss.

DUKE vs FSU (3/3) in Cameroon Indoor Stadium is looking more and more like a HUGE game.

[brevity]

They were ranked 25th before losing to Wake last week.


DUKE vs FSU (3/3) in Cameroon Indoor Stadium is looking more and more like a HUGE game.

Didn't realize the game was going to be in Africa.

I kid. But I've always thought that some rich, eccentric person should build a full-size replica of Cameron Indoor Stadium in Cameroon. It would be the most awesome and bizarre tribute ever. And hey, if it helps with recruiting more international players...

[houstondukie]

They were ranked 25th before losing to Wake last week.



Didn't realize the game was going to be in Africa.

I kid. But I've always thought that some rich, eccentric person should build a full-size replica of Cameron Indoor Stadium in Cameroon. It would be the most awesome and bizarre tribute ever. And hey, if it helps with recruiting more international players...

HAHA, sorry for the typo.

[Classof06]

I agree, Florida State is not a team you'd want to play in the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Statistically, they have one of the five biggest rosters in America and you throw in a guard like Toney Douglas and you got something. Singleton, Alabi and Reid is a damn solid front line.

They asked Greg Anthony on CBS yesterday (2/21) to name a team that could make a deep run in March that nobody is talking about and he said Florida State. I'd have to agree.

Believe the Seminoles will be ready when they come to Cameron.

[CDu]

I agree, Florida State is not a team you'd want to play in the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Statistically, they have one of the five biggest rosters in America and you throw in a guard like Toney Douglas and you got something. Singleton, Alabi and Reid is a damn solid front line.

They asked Greg Anthony on CBS yesterday (2/21) to name a team that could make a deep run in March that nobody is talking about and he said Florida State. I'd have to agree.

Believe the Seminoles will be ready when they come to Cameron.

FSU has (theoretically) all the components to make a deep run. They have great size. They play good defense. They have two guards (Douglas and Kitchens) who can get really hot and score in bunches. And they shoot free throws well.

They don't always look pretty, but they are certainly dangerous. Their biggest problem is that they may be TOO dependent upon Douglas and Kitchens to carry the offensive burden. Their bigs just aren't very good offensively (though Echefu is a great shooter).

[gumbomoop]

I agree with several posters who say, in effect, yeah, FSU is sorta sneaky good.

They play a legitimate 9-man rotation, with only Douglas playing whole game (36-37 min, and really probably all 40 in big games). The other 8 play 15-25 min each. And of the 9, 4 are frosh, incl redshirt Alabi. So they have a balance between experience - Echefu [remember he was a UNC target, and surprised by picking FSU?] and 5th-yr [Auburn transfer] Douglas - and talented frosh.

FSU started real slow, with close wins over mediocre competition, and lost to Northwestern early, but also gave Pitt a tough-ugly game, which in general is how they win, or lose. Ugly incompetence at end of UNC game, ugly overall in wipeout at Wake, tough-ugly, tough-ugly in 1st half v. Duke [remember?].

But they've improved steadily, as one might predict, had one been paying much attention to them, as the frosh have gotten game experience. [Here insert your feelings on the Williams/Plumlee issue......]

Primarily, imo, they're winning because they have the #2 [after Thabeet] defensive poy, and surely the ACC defensive poy, Douglas, who also scores 20 ppg, and appears a real leader of his team.

Like Duke, they have horrible end-schedule, so the game in Cameron will say a lot about each team's conference finish.

[OldSchool]

Think about this:

In the UNC game, FSU was up 3 with possession of the ball and plenty of time on the shot clock with 1:15 left in the game.

Florida State is one dumb pass by Toney Douglas away from sitting alone today atop the ACC standings.

I think they're really good, but not being used to the pressure of the NCAAs, I wouldn't be surprised if they were taken down by a team with lesser talent in the tourney.

[eddiehaskell]

If I'm not mistaken, Florida St has been pretty good for the last few years, but they lost a lot of close games. This year, they seem better at closing out the game.

Leonard Hamilton is from Gastonia NC....5 miles away from me. :)

[jv001]

The Seminoles are back in the ESPN/USA Top 25 rankings. They are rated
#25. They are a handful with their length and Tony Douglas running the attack. Go Duke!