FSU vs. Wake Forest: Preview, how to watch, game thread

Florida State Seminoles basketball, after a long layoff, made its return to the basketball court on the first day of the new year, securing a conference victory vs. NC State in a tight 83-81 game.

“I’m sure like most of the teams this time of the year that are going through the challenging period of going through COVID, the pauses, and the Christmas break, this was a very satisfying victory under those circumstances,” head coach Leonard Hamilton said following the game. “I thought we grinded it (this game) out. We made some plays down the stretch. We were a little bit uncertain about what to expect from each other.

“That’s what you like to see out of a team who’s not real sure what they are doing. We can’t be but so sharp with no practices. I thought it showed a little bit about the potential heart and desire that this team has. Hopefully, we can continue to keep growing.”

Up next for the Seminoles is another road matchup vs. the Wake Foret Demon Deacons (11-3, 1-2 ACC), who are returning back to Winston-Salem following a defeat to the Miami (FL) Hurricanes.

From our sister site, Blogger So Dear:

If I told you that Wake scored 84 points, shot 54% from the field for the game, outscored Miami in the paint by 10, and turned the ball over 6 fewer times than the Canes, you might get the feeling that they came away with the win.

Unfortunately, the Deacs were so bad on the defensive end that none of those things mattered. Wake allowed Miami to shoot 62% from the floor and 50% from beyond the arc in this one, giving up a whopping 92 points. The Canes were pretty much able to get an open look from 3 or an easy layup every time down the court. Head Coach Steve Forbes called it “one of the worst defensive performances” that he had ever coached.

The problem for Wake Forest is that in the ACC, every team has really good players that are difficult to defend. The Deacs aren’t going win many ACC games this season if they continue to play this poor on defense.

Time

7:00 pm

Channel

Bally Sports

Stream

Bally Sports

Spread

According to DraftKings, FSU is a 1.5 point underdog to Wake Forest.

Game Notes via FSU Sports Info

• Seminoles freshman Matthew Cleveland, who enters Tuesday’s game averaging 9.6 points scored per games, was named the ACC Freshman of the Week on January 3, 2022. He earned his first career double double of 13 points and 10 rebounds in Florida State’s 83-81 win over NC State on Saturday. He pushed himself to the double double with three points in the final 11 seconds and two offensive rebounds in the final 18 seconds of the Seminoles’ victory. Cleveland totaled nine points, seven rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot in the second half of the Seminoles’ victory over the Wolfpack.
• Florida State, which earned eight steals in Saturday’s victory over NC State, enters Tuesday’s game at Wake Forest as the ACC leaders in steals with 110 steals and a 10.0 steals per game average. The Seminoles are the only team in the ACC who are averaging 10 or more steals per game. The Seminoles have earned 10 or more steals in five different games (15 against Penn, 14 against Loyola Marymount, 12 against Boston University, 10 against Missouri and 10 against Lipscomb) and are undefeated in each of those five games. Florida State has earned 17 steals in its first two ACC games (nine against NC State and eight against Syracuse) and have no fewer than seven steals in any one game this season. Florida State has led the ACC in steals two times – 2012 (ACC Tournament Champions) and 2020 (ACC Champions) and have won the conference championship in both of those years