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Scouting Florida State

NC State Wolfpack basketball (6-3, 2-2 ACC) continues conference play Wednesday night against Florida State in Tallahassee at 6:30 p.m. on ACC Network.

The Seminoles are 5-2 (1-1 ACC) under head coach Leonard Hamilton in his 19th season with the program. Florida State lost to No. 12 Clemson 77-67 in its last contest on Dec. 29.

The Pack is also coming off of a loss, a 64-59 defeat to Miami on Saturday.

Here is the scouting report on Florida State:

Florida State Seminoles basketball M.J. Walker
Senior guard M.J. Walker leads Florida State in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game. (Associated Press)
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Season Overview

Florida State is 5-2 on the season and was ranked in the AP Top 25 for most of the year until its recent two-week hiatus coming off of a 10-point loss to Clemson, which caused the Seminoles to drop out of the rankings this week. FSU has not played since that defeat to the Tigers and has delayed two games because of COVID-19 issues.

The Noles are 3-2 against teams ranked in the top 100 according to KenPom. FSU defeated Indiana (69-67 OT), Florida (83-71) and Georgia Tech (74-61). It also lost to UCF (86-74) and Clemson (77-67).

Other than Clemson, Florida State has had one other common opponent as NC State. Like the Wolfpack, the Noles blew out North Florida 86-58 in the season opener.

Florida State was projected to finish third in the preseason ACC media poll.

Rankings

Florida State is currently ranked No. 59 in the NET rankings (NC State is No. 54), which makes Wednesday's contest a quad one game for the Pack.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Seminoles ranked No. 53 (NC State is No. 27), and KenPom.com has FSU ranked No. 31 (NC State is No. 49).

Florida State is also ranked No. 72 in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com.

Shooting

Florida State is average across the board in most shooting statistics.

The Seminoles have shot 33.9 percent from the perimeter, which ranks 155th nationally, and 49.4 percent on two-point attempts, good 185th among Division I teams.

FSU has an effective field goal shooting percentage (an adjusted rated to account for three-pointers counting for more than twos) of 50.0, which ranks 11th in the ACC and 164th nationally.

The Noles' strength on offense is getting to the free throw line consistently. Florida State averages 22.1 free throw attempts per game, good for 59th among Division I teams, but has made just 69.0 percent of those attempts, which ranks 10th in the ACC and 204th nationally.

Advantage: NC State

Rebounding 

Considering Florida State's length, one would think the Seminoles would be an elite rebounding team.

FSU has been above average this season, but not to the point that NC State can't compete on the boards with a good showing. The Noles average 37.3 rebounds per game, which ranks 128th nationally.

Florida State's strength is on the offensive glass. FSU averages 12.1 offensive rebounds per contest, 56th-most among Division I teams, and has an offensive rebounding percentage of 34.1, good for 38th nationally and third in the ACC.

Junior forward Malik Osborne, who averages 20.4 minutes per game, leads the Noles with 2.6 offensive rebounds per contest and an offensive rebounding percentage of 14.5, which ranks 33rd among Division I players.

The Seminoles also give up a lot of offensive rebounds to their opponents. FSU's opponents have recovered an offensive rebound on 29.9 percent of their possessions, which is the fourth-highest rate in the conference.

Advantage: Florida State

Defense 

Florida State is ranked 33rd overall in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom.

The Seminoles' opponents average 68.4 points per game, which is 148th nationally, and shoot on average 39.5 percent from the field, good for 47th among Division I teams.

FSU's opponents have shot 34.2 percent from beyond the arc, which ranks 209th nationally, but the Noles also rank third in the ACC with allowing a 27.3-defensive three-point percentage in league play through two conference games.

Florida State's strength on the defensive end is protecting the rim.

The Noles average 4.6 blocks per game, good for 44th among Division I teams, and produce a block on 13.9 percent of defensive possessions, which ranks 19th nationally and leads the ACC.

FSU has also held opponents to just 43.3 percent shooting on two-point attempts, which ranks 25th in the country and second in the conference.

Advantage: Tie

Depth

This isn't the deepest roster Hamilton has had in Tallahassee, but it still has impressive depth and length.

The Seminoles have 9 players that average 10 minutes per game or more, all of which are 6-foot-4 or taller.

FSU also averages 24.7 bench points per contest.

Advantage: Florida State

Player to Watch

Freshman guard Scottie Barnes earned preseason first-team All-ACC and ACC Freshman of the Year honors for a reason.

The 6-9 guard poses a matchup nightmare, is incredibly talented and is projected to be a lottery pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Barnes averages 11.1 points per game, second-most of the team, and has a team-high 4.3 assists per contest. He has created an assist on 34.9 percent of possessions he's been on the floor, which ranks 39th among Division I players.

He's also an electric defender that can guard almost everyone on the floor with his size and athleticism. Barnes averages 1.7 steals per game and produces a steal on 3.7 percent of possessions in which he's on the court, good for 114th nationally.

Numbers of Note

13.7 Is junior forward Jericole Hellems' points-per-game scoring average in NC State's six wins this season. In those six victories, Hellems has shot 50.0 percent from the field, producing 13 assists and just six turnovers. In the Pack's three losses, Hellems has averaged 6.3 points per game on just 30.4 percent shooting from the field and has produced just two assists against five turnovers.

51.2 Is NC State's first-half shooting percentage in the first four games against ACC opponents. The Pack has also shot 42.9 percent on three-point attempts in the opening 20 minutes of those four contests. The Wolfpack has shot just 37.0 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from beyond the arc in the second half of its conference games.

1-2 Is head coach Kevin Keatts' record against Florida State during his time with the Wolfpack. NC State defeated No. 25 FSU by 20 points in Keatts' first game against the Seminoles in 2017-18 but has lost the last two meetings by five and six points, respectively.

Likely Starters 

NC State

G — 10 Braxton Beverly (6-0, 180, Sr., 6.4 ppg, 2.6 apg, 1.5 spg)

G — 5 Thomas Allen (6-1, 180, R-Jr., 7.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.4 spg)

G — 24 Devon Daniels (6-5, 205, 5th-Sr., 15.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.1 apg)

F — 4 Jericole Hellems (6-7, 205, Jr., 11.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.9 apg)

C — 15 Manny Bates (6-11, 230, R-So., 9.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.0 bpg)

Florida State

G – 4 Scottie Barnes (6-9, 227, Fr., 11.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.3 apg)

G – 23 M.J. Walker (6-5, 213, Sr. 15.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.0 apg)

G – 2 Anthony Polite (6-6, 215, Jr., 10.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.6 apg)

F – 1 Raiquan Gray (6-8, 260, Jr., 7.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.9 apg)

C – 5 Balsa Koprivica (7-1, 240, So., 9.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.0 bpg)

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