Georgia State at Florida State

[IE]

* This is Georgia State?s ninth road game in 10 dates.

* FSU has not played since a Dec. 6 victory against Florida International.

* The Seminoles topped the Panthers 62-57 last season in Atlanta as GSU rallied from 19 down to have a late shot at tying the game.

* This is the final year of the four-year home-and-home series.

* Jacksonville is a common opponent and lost to both schools: the Panthers beat JU 64-54 and FSU won 87-61.

* Georgia State has yet to top an ACC opponent (two victories against Georgia Tech came before the Yellow Jackets were league members).

 

[IE]

Big week for FSU hoopsters




By: Tom Block
FSU Basketball Play-by-Play Announcer

The Seminoles boast one of the tallest, if not the tallest, basketball teams in the nation.

And it?s a good thing, because they need that height to see the bar ? which they raised last season when they returned to the NCAA tournament after a lengthy absence from the Big Dance.

And now that that they?ve marched back to the madness, anything less than a return to the NCAA postseason will be a major disappointment.

To that end, this is a big stretch for the FSU basketball team. Four games over the next 8 days (against Georgia State, Auburn, Georgia Tech, and Tennessee-Martin) will go a long way toward determining how successful FSU is this season. Obviously winning the games is important, but even more important for Florida State is improving as a basketball team ? particularly in the areas of ball-handling and half-court offense.

Both have been below par thus far, partly because of the loss of Toney Douglas and partly because of a hectic schedule out of the gate that didn?t leave much time on the practice court for this team to mesh. But lately, there?s been plenty of time on the practice court, and there should be visible improvement in FSU?s offensive play as a result.

But don?t take it from me, see for yourself. All four games in this critical stretch will be televised live on FOX Sports Florida, starting with Tuesday night?s tilt against Georgia State.

And remember, despite the struggles offensively in the half court, FSU is 7-2 so far on the young season, with some quality wins (and losses) on the schedule. And what the ?Noles have lacked at one end of the court, they?ve made up for at the other end: FSU currently leads the ACC in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and blocked shots.

If the offense ever catches up to the defenand blocked shots.

If the offense ever catches up to the defense, this could be a really, really good basketball team ? one that heads back to the Big Dance in March.

Stay tuned?.