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Just two days after earning a huge victory at home vs. the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils, Florida State Seminoles basketball will return to the hardwood in Tallahassee for a rescheduled matchup vs. the UNF Ospreys (4-14, 0-5 ASUN)
“We just have to manage it,” head coach Leonard Hamilton said of the tight turnaround between matchups following Tuesday’s win. “This is what we are up against.”
Florida State (11-5, 5-2 ACC) has bounced back after an early three-game losing skid that was almost immediately followed by a long layoff, racking up huge wins against Miami and the aforementioned Blue Devils as part of a four-game winning streak.
Originally set in December but postponed due to COVID-19 issues, the game will serve as the fourth straight game between the two schools. FSU and UNF have played six times in their history, with the Seminoles holding a 6-0 record in the series.
“Though it’s odd timing for this type of game, it’s all part of the non-conference scheduling that in this instance had a postponement,” Ospreys head coach Matthew Driscoll said. “We are very much looking forward to the opportunity to not only compete but persevere through this adversity as we continue to focus our eyes straight ahead, fixed on what is directly before us.”
UNF, on a five-game losing streak, is in the midst of its own grueling multi-game stretch. The Ospreys faced off against Jacksonville University on Saturday, following it up with a game vs. Kennesaw State on Monday. Thursday’s matchup vs. FSU will be its fifth game in the last 12 days.
A reprieve of a matchup in between duels vs. Duke and ACC-leading Miami, Florida State has a chance to prove its ability to find consistent success, even against what’s perceived as an inferior opponent.
“What we have to do is stay focused on that which we can control,” Hamilton said. “We know we need to not get distracted by the success; you can’t get too high when things are going well and you can’t get too low when things are not going well.”
FSU vs. UNF is scheduled for a 12 p.m. tipoff in Tallahassee, and is set to be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
Channel
ACC Network Extra
Stream
Spread
According to DraftKings, the Seminoles are 22 point favorites over UNF.
Game notes, via FSU
FLORIDA STATE VS. UNF – CONNECTIONS
Florida State plays host to North Florida on January 20, 2022 at the Donald L. Tucker Center. The Seminoles’ game against the Osprey’s marks the seventh meeting between the two teams – with each of the first six games coming during the tenure of Seminole Head Coach Leonard Hamilton and each coming as Florida State victories. North Florida Head Coach Matt Driscoll has coached the Ospreys in each of the first six games of the series and knows the Seminoles and Hamilton well. Driscoll spent six seasons as an assistant to Larry Shyatt at Clemson (1998-2003) – a time period when the Seminoles were 9-7 against the Tigers, including four wins in the ACC Tournament. Bobby Keenan, the associate head coach at North Florida, served on Seminole playing and coaching legend Hugh Durham’s coaching staff at Jacksonville for five years (2000-05). Bruce Evans, also an assistant coach on the UNF staff, was the Director of Player Development at Georgia Tech (2012-16) when the Seminoles earned a 3-1 mark against the Yellow Jackets.
HAMILTON, FLORIDA STATE WITH TWO NATIONAL HISTORICAL RECORDS
Under Head Coach Leonard Hamilton, the Seminoles have won a NCAA record 13 consecutive overtime games. The streak began with a 101-90 double overtime win over Syracuse on January 13, 2018 and continued on Tuesday with their 79-78 overtime win over Duke; …Speaking to the ability of Head Coach Leonard Hamilton and how he develops talent, Hamilton has now won an NCAA record 55 games over ranked teams while his teams were unranked.
FLORIDA STATE AT THE DONALD L. TUCKER CENTER IN THE LAST FIVE SEASONS
Florida State is 84-5 at home in the last five (plus) seasons (.944 winning percentage). The Seminoles have won 84 of their last 89 home games since February 27, 2015. The Seminoles won their final three home games of the 2015-16 season (Notre Dame, Syracuse, Davidson) and have won 81 of 86 home games (.942MADISON winning percentage) in the last five seasons. The Seminoles have lost just one ACC home game since a 77-68 win over Clemson on January 22, 2019. Florida State has won 28 of its last 29 ACC home games since defeating the Tigers and won 25 consecutive ACC home games from January 22, 2019 through March 3, 2021 – the second longest conference winning streak in ACC history. Only Duke, who won 26 straight ACC home games from 1997-2002, has a longer streak than then Seminoles in the history of the greatest conference in college basketball history.
HAMILTON IS THE FIFTH WINNINGEST COACH IN ACC HISTORY
Seminole Head Coach Leonard Hamilton is the fifth winningest coach in ACC history with 388 career wins at Florida State.
Game notes, via UNF
NAIL BITERS
Three of UNF’s five ASUN games have been decided by three points or less. The last two for UNF have come down to a final possession.
BULLS-EYE
Jarius Hicklen went 5-for-10 from 3-point land vs. Kennesaw State for a season-high 17 points.
TALE OF THE TAPE
UNF is 4-0 when shooting at a better clip than its opponents and 0-14 when the other team is shooting a better mark.
FULL SCHEDULE
North Florida is playing its third game since Saturday. UNF hosted JU Saturday, Jan. 15 and Kennesaw State Jan. 17. North Florida will go to Eastern Kentucky Jan. 22.