Florida State might not get the attention of others nationally, but have smoothly worked its way to being ranked No. 8 in the country.

The Seminoles have a gaudy 22-4 overall record and are 12-3 in the ACC. The non-conference slate provided wins over Florida, Tennessee and Purdue, with the lone loss at Indiana. FSU has ACC losses at Pittsburgh in the season opener, at Virginia on Jan. 28 and at Duke on Feb. 10 by a combined 12 points.

NC State (17-9 overall, 8-7 ACC) hosts the Florida State at 4 p.m. today at PNC Arena on the ACC Network.

Florida State lost some key cogs from last year, but are rolling along regardless. Sophomore wing Devin Vassell has emerged as a legit NBA Draft prospect, and senior point guard Trent Forrest is a steady leader.

Head coach Leonard Hamilton, who is a “young” 71 years old, is a win away from winning 23 games for the fourth straight year at FSU. He’s guided Florida State to seven trips to the NCAA Tournament since 2002.

Rankings

In the newly established NET rankings done by the NCAA, FSU is ranked No. 15 in the country this season.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has Florida State ranked No. 16, and KenPom.com has the Seminoles at No. 23.

Florida State is ranked No. 8 in the old RPI formula used by the NCAA — according to RealTimeRPI.com.

Shooting

The Seminoles are second in the ACC at 75.6 points per game, second in shooting 45.8 percent from the field and surprisingly second in three-point field-goal percentage (36.4 percent).

Vassell leads the way with 41.8 percent on three-pointers, and M.J. Walker is making 36.3 percent. Seven different FSU players have made at least 14 three-pointers this season.

Rebounding

Florida State ranks ninth in the ACC with 35.2 rebounds per game, but fourth with 11.3 offensive rebounds a contest. FSU is sixth in rebounding margin (2.2).

FSU doesn’t have one guy to clean the boards, but three players are averaging between 4.4 rebounds and 5.3 a game. The latter is spearheaded by Vassell, and Rice transfer Malik Osborne and Forrest are right behind him.

Defense

The Seminoles are fifth in the ACC in allowing 65.6 points per game, and fourth in allowing 40.4 percent from the field by opponents. Opposing teams are shooting 32.2 percent on three-pointers, which ranks ninth in the league. FSU leads the ACC with 9.08 steals per game and are second with 5.62 blocks a contest.

Vassell also leads the Seminoles with 27 blocks, and freshman forward Patrick Williams has 26. Forrest has an impressive 54 steals and five players have at least 22 steals.

Depth

Florida State is one of the few teams that willingly plays 10 or 11 players on the roster. Williams picked Florida State over NC State among others, and he’s shown flashes of his impressive talent. He’s averaging 9.2 points per game and shooting 34.9 percent on three-pointers.

Wings Anthony Polite, Nathanael Jack and Rayquan Evans provide depth on the perimeter. Centers Balsa Koprivica and Ole Miss graduate transfer Dominik Olejniczak, and power forward Wyatt Wilkes provide the beef.

Florida State landed wing Devin Vassell early in the recruiting process in the class of 2018, but few knew much about the Suwanee (Ga.) Peachtree Ridge product.

FSU offered Vassell in April, which was his first offer, and he played for a traveling team that wasn’t on the shoe circuit. He quickly committed to FSU in May, and by the end of his freshman year, it was clear the Seminoles had “stolen” him. Now, he’s emerged as one of the most versatile players in the ACC.

The 6-6, 210-pounder leads FSU with 13 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks (tied with Patrick Williams) and a team-high 41.8 percent on three-pointers (among players with at least 15 three-point attempts).

Vassell had a season-high 27 points and went 7 of 7 on three-pointers in a 74-63 win at Virginia Tech on Feb. 1, and he had 23 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in the 83-79 overtime win at Miami on Jan. 18. He has cracked double figures in all but five games.

During his freshman year, Vassell scored in double figures in five games and averaged 4.5 points per game. He showed his flashes by going 4 of 7 on three-pointers for 14 points vs. Virginia Tech on March 14, 2019, and he had 13 points, seven rebounds and made all three-point attempts against Notre Dame on Feb. 25. Now he’s become a contender for first-team All-ACC.

NC State

PG — 11 Markell Johnson (6-1, 175, Sr., 13.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 6.4 apg, 1.9 spg)

SG — 13 C.J. Bryce (6-5, 210, 5th-Sr., 13.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.4 spg)

G — 24 Devon Daniels (6-5, 205, R-Jr., 12.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.7 spg)

PF — 0 D.J. Funderburk (6-10, 225, R-Jr., 12.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 0.3 apg, 1.0 spg)

C — 15 Manny Bates (6-11, 230, R-Fr., 5.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.3 apg, 2.9 bpg)

Florida State

PG — 3 Trent Forrest (6-4, 210, Sr., 11.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.1 spg)

SG — 23 M.J. Walker (6-5, 213, Jr., 10.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.4 apg)

SF — 24 Devin Vassell (6-6, 180, Soph., 13.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.4 spg, 1.1 bpg)

PF — 10 Malik Osborne (6-9, 215, R-Soph., 6.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 0.5 apg)

C — 1 RaiQuan Gray (6-8, 260, Soph., 6.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.1 spg)

8: FSU players on the roster who has led the team in scoring this season. Sophomore wing Devin Vassell has led the way doing it 10 times.

15: Coaches named to the Naismith Late Season Coach of the Year Watch List, including FSU’s Leonard Hamilton. He has earned three national coach of the year awards and two ACC coach of the year awards.

219: Career steals by FSU senior point guard Trent Forrest, which ranks 25th in ACC history, and he’s one behind former NC State legend Sidney Lowe, who had 220 steals from 1980-83.

Florida State senior point guard Trent Forrest has improved each and every season in coach Leonard Hamilton’s system.

The Chipley (Fla.) High product was ranked No. 68 overall in the class of 2016 by Rivals.com, and had offers from most of the schools in the deep south.

The 6-4, 210-pounder has improved his scoring each season, and is up to 11.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game this season. He’s a physical slasher and quality defender, but isn’t a great three-pointer. He’s just 14 of 47 for 29.8 percent, which is actually a career-high.

Forrest enters the NC State game with some momentum, averaging 13.0 points per game and 4.4 assists over his last five games. He’s reached double figures in points in all but eight games. He had a season-high 20 points in the 78-65 win at Louisville on Jan. 4.

NC State senior point guard Markell Johnson is coming off arguably his best game of the season. He had 28 points, nine rebounds and went 5 of 6 on three-pointers in the 88-66 win over Duke on Wednesday.

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