FSU vs Ohio preview

Do you cringe when I mention the name Scott Wood? As an unknown freshman he came in to Tallahassee and knocked down 7-11 3s to single handedly beat the Noles. Never mind that he would become one of the best shooters in recent ACC history, Wood came to represent all the big lugs who could go unconscious from deep and destroy Coach Hamilton's game plan.

So I can't imagine that Seminole fans will be comfortable when they see Kenny Kaminski roaming the perimeter for Ohio (3-1). The MAC doesn't see too many consensus top 100 recruits on their rosters, especially one of Kaminski's stature. As a sophomore he led the Big Ten in 3-pt accuracy (49.4%). But he ran afoul of Coach Izzo one too many times and was dismissed from Michigan State.

At the time Saul Phillips was just about to begin his first year as head coach of Ohio, and he convinced Kaminski to join him. Kaminski sat out last season, and is now a junior. He got off to a slow start on the year but in the Paradise Jam has made 8-16 3s. He's the type of shooter than can go Scott Wood on you.

Like FSU's first opponent - Hofstra - Ohio takes a ton of 3s. 44% of their shots are from beyond the arc, and they knock down 40% of them.

Ohio almost knocked off tournament favorite Tulsa, leading them by 19 in the 2nd half. But their shots stopped falling and Tulsa was able to prevail.

In their second game, they smoked Norfolk State 93-71.

Jaaron Simmons, another transfer (Houston), is putting up All-Tournament numbers as well. At the Paradise Jam the 6-1 sophomore is averaging 20.5 points and 10.5 assists.

Ohio is a pretty big team with a bunch of interchangeable parts. Their starting lineup goes 6-1, 6-8, 6-8, 6-8, 6-8, and they can all shoot.

Their weakness has been too many turnovers on offense, and not enough turnovers on defense. With the difference they're giving their opponents an extra five possessions per game.

They'll certainly make some runs with their propensity to hit 3s. Florida State will need to avoid another poor offensive outing like the one they had against Hofstra, and on defense the guards will need to be good at cleaning up the long rebounds. Rebounds off of 3s lead to a lot of transition opportunities, which is where FSU excels.

The game tips at 4pm and will be streamed free online at paradisejam.com.  FSU is an 11.5 point favorite in Vegas, and Pomeroy has FSU -11.