The Seminoles return home looking to right the ship tonight against Charleston Southern (5-2). FSU has dropped three straight, something that hasn't happened since 2008. To do so they'll have to get by the Buccaneers from the Big South Conference, a team which shouldn't be able to challenge a Florida State team playing at home.
7th year head coach Barclay Radebaugh has never had a winning record, though this is his best team to date, and they could contend for the Big South title. The Buccaneers are led by Kelvin Martin, a 6'5 senior averaging 13.6 points and 8 boards per game. Martin could play for just about any high major school - his offensive rating is 113.4, he's an elite rebounder on both ends of the floor, and he averages six trips to the line every game. The other player to watch is 6'5 junior Mathiang Muo who is shooting 50% from the 3-point line. Charleston Southern is greatly undersized, with their biggest player standing 6'6. Their only chance to beat FSU is to get hot from deep.
Defensively the Buccaneers are not very good. Their opponent 2pt FG% and 3pt FG% both hover around 300th nationally. The one thing they do well is turning teams over. Their opponents commit turnovers on 23.7% of their possessions, which is 76th in the nation.
Florida State should pound the ball inside from the opening tip until the end of the game. Unless Charleston Southern is triple-teaming on the interior, anything more than a dozen three point attempts is a waste.
FSU is a 17 point favorite in Vegas, and Pomeroy has FSU -19. The game tips at 7pm on ESPNU.