NCAAB Game Preview - Notre Dame at Florida State
Sat Jan 25, 2020 8:00 PM EST

Baylor
72
Fla
61
F
Pacif
59
Gonz
92
F
Tenn
68
Kansas
74
F
ND
84
FSU
85
F
Clem
62
Lou
80
F
Dayt
87
Rich
79
F
Vill
64
Prov
60
F
Mizzu
51
WVU
74
F
KY
76
TxTch
74
F(OT)
IaSt
76
Aub
80
F
SMU
74
Mem
70
F
Ill
64
Mich
62
F
Ariz
65
AzSt
66
F
Wash
62
Colora
76
F
Nebras
72
Rut
75
F
Pitt
61
Syr
69
F
Del
76
NE
74
F
Mia-FL
71
UNC
94
F
Lafy
74
Leh
56
F
VCU
76
LaSal
65
F
Mercer
69
VMI
66
F
Maine
53
UMBC
63
F
IL-C
69
Detr
70
F
Furm
78
Citad
54
F
Army
73
Navy
66
F
LSU
69
Tex
67
F
MissSt
62
Okla
63
F
StJon
79
DeP
66
F
VaTec
56
BC
61
F
WIGB
94
YSU
98
F(OT)
Presb
57
Winth
72
F
Temp
59
Penn
66
F
E MI
68
Mia-O
73
F
Duques
64
UMass
73
F
Brad
53
IndSt
61
F
App
78
CoCar
58
F
Colg
79
Amer
69
F
Boston
79
HolyC
64
F
Denv
70
NDSU
82
F
UNCG
70
Samf
63
F
SIU
58
IlSt
55
F
LaTec
72
UAB
58
F
Hartfo
62
Albany
48
F
URI
81
StBon
75
F
IUPUI
89
Oakl
85
F(OT)
WIMil
53
Clev
70
F
FaDi
60
SacHr
77
F
Akr
88
Ohio
86
F
Merrim
76
CenCT
86
F
FlaAM
87
How
83
F
NCSU
58
GaTec
64
F
StJos
69
GrgWas
85
F
OkSt
73
TAMU
62
F
TCU
67
Ark
78
F
UNH
77
Bingha
69
F
UNCA
63
USC-Up
80
F
Tows
70
W&M
58
F
Lib
43
Stetsn
48
F
StFPA
79
StFNY
86
F
Hamp
79
Radf
83
F
FIU
49
UNCC
75
F
Drex
59
Hof
72
F
JMU
73
Elon
82
F
Chat
64
ETSU
75
F
Colum
50
Corn
62
F
UNCW
72
Charl
70
F
SEMO
59
E IL
61
F
BethC
95
NCAT
98
F
DelSt
45
NCC
72
F
Morg
50
Copp
48
F
ORU
80
SDak
91
F
SeLA
84
NWSt
81
F(OT)
HCU
89
McNee
102
F
ChaSo
92
GWebb
83
F(2OT)
RobM
71
LIU
66
F
Ball
66
CenMI
71
F
W MI
52
NIU
58
F
AbCh
70
CenAR
69
F(OT)
JU
83
KennSt
64
F
Belm
78
APSU
86
F
NFla
73
Lipsco
85
F
AF
81
SJSU
90
F
BYU
82
USF
83
F
USC
75
OrSt
55
F
N CO
74
Ida
53
F
TexAr
64
TxSt
62
F
MorSt
51
JSU
72
F
Bry
76
MtStM
79
F
GASt
82
GaSo
77
F
S UT
78
E WA
81
F(OT)
TXAMC
68
InWor
47
F
TN-M
79
SIU-E
76
F
SFA
70
Lamar
62
F
Miss
70
UGA
60
F
ArkSt
78
Troy
62
F
Tul
62
ECU
81
F
SCla
65
USD
52
F
PorSt
82
NoAZ
84
F
UTEP
57
N TX
67
F
USM
63
MTSU
65
F
KSU
74
Bama
77
F
GMas
53
David
68
F
ArkPB
54
PVAM
67
F
ASU
71
South
80
F
Gram
53
JackSt
71
F
SCSt
62
Norf
73
F
AlaAM
58
Alc
59
F
NJIT
56
FlGlf
54
F
WaSt
64
Utah
76
F
Longw
72
HiPt
62
F
Woff
72
WCU
81
F
UMassL
62
Vermt
92
F
BGSU
85
Toled
79
F
FAU
55
ODU
65
F
Harv
70
Dart
66
F
LoyMD
83
Buck
98
F
Nich
77
NOrl
72
F
Marsh
84
W Ky
91
F
UCF
79
WichSt
87
F
Portl
69
Pepp
80
F
NM
74
Nev
96
F
Bois
87
Fres
53
F
NMSt
67
UTRGV
62
F
UtVal
73
GrCan
69
F
IPFW
71
NebOm
75
F
W IL
77
UND
83
F
ULM
60
UL
81
F
UTSA
90
Rice
88
F
Vand
64
SouthCar
90
F
TNSt
64
Murr
76
F
StMar
73
LoyMa
62
F
Mont
85
Web
87
F(OT)
MTSt
75
IdaSt
64
F
MsVl
67
TXSo
80
F
ArkLR
73
USA
71
F
E KY
80
TNTec
74
F
UCRiv
63
UCSB
65
F
Seatt
86
CSBak
79
F
UMKC
67
CBU
57
F
CAPoly
67
UCIrv
74
F
ColSt
61
UtSt
77
F
CSNor
75
CS-Ful
82
F
UCDav
75
HI
76
F
Fresh off historic ranking, No. 5 Seminoles host Notre Dame
Fri Jan 24, 2020 4:12 AM

To put in perspective how long it's been since the No. 5 Florida State men's basketball program has enjoyed a ranking this high, here's what was happening in the world the last time the Seminoles found themselves in this position.

The year was 1972 when the Seminoles earned a preseason No. 2 ranking, and American swimmer Mark Spitz had just won seven gold medals at the Olympics, digital watches were just hitting the market, the first scientific hand-held calculator was debuted, Atari released its famed game "PONG," and there was thing called the "Watergate Scandal" happening in Washington D.C.

You may have heard of it.

The Seminoles' ranking didn't last long, however, as they fell to No. 7 after a loss to Princeton. And, before this week, it had been 48 years since they'd cracked the Top 5.

But the Seminoles (16-2 overall, 16-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) are back in the Associated Press Top 25 poll elite -- and they're loving every minute of this historic run heading into Saturday's conference showdown against Notre Dame (11-7, 2-5).

"That's what we've been trying to build -- a team that's worthy of that level of attention and support," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton told the Tallahassee Democrat this week. "We want to keep it that way so in order for it to be consistent night-in and night-out, we just want to continue to keep winning."

Florida State's latest win came Sunday against rival Miami as the Seminoles erased a nine-point deficit with just over five minutes to play for their ninth straight victory that put them atop the ACC standings. One day later, the pollsters moved Florida State from No. 9 to No. 5, and they're now projected to land a No. 2 NCAA Tournament seed, per ESPN's Andy Katz.

"The Seminoles are not just an ACC title contender but have to be considered for a run to (the Final Four in) Atlanta," Katz wrote this week.

Florida State has shined behind the play of players like guards Devin Vassell (13.2 points per game), Trent Forrest (11.8 ppg) and MJ Walker (11.6 ppg) -- their three leading scorers. Vassell is also tied for the team lead in rebounds on the season with forward Malik Osborne with 92 boards each.

On paper, Notre Dame -- which comes in having lost three of its last four games -- doesn't present as big of a challenge as years past, especially considering the Seminoles are nearly unbeatable at home these days. Florida State has gone 58-3 in its last 61 home games since the end of the 2015-16 season -- and they are 28-3 in conference contests at home during that same time period.

Hamilton said the support from the fans over the last five years has been a big reason why teams have a hard time winning at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

"There's no doubt (our fans have) an effect on the game, the atmosphere, the experience of the game. I think they'll leave feeling exhausted, that they were part of the victory," Hamilton said of the home crowd after the Virginia win last week." Over the last three or four years ... we haven't lost that many games at home. I think the fans help us and hopefully, we're doing something that they like to see."

Those same fans will try to make it difficult Saturday on the Fighting Irish, who are coming off a gut-wrenching 84-82 loss to Syracuse on Wednesday. Notre Dame forward John Mooney scored a game-high 21 points and had 13 rebounds, but his 12th consecutive double-double -- which broke Luke Harangody's 11-year-old school record -- wasn't enough as the Fighting Irish remained winless in its three ACC home games.

"That's about as good as we're gonna be offensively right there," Fighting Irish coach Mike Brey told ESPN.com after the loss. "We just couldn't get enough stops. Disappointed for our guys, (but) we'll keep swinging."

Mooney is averaging a team-best 15.7 points and 13.9 rebounds a game, and he has plenty of help with three other Fighting Irish players also averaging double figures -- guards T.J. Gibbs (13.3 ppg), Prentiss Hubb (12.6 ppg) and Dane Goodwin (11.9 ppg). Notre Dame also enters the game averaging just 9.8 turnovers per game -- second-fewest in the nation.

Following Saturday's game, Florida State will travel to take on Virginia on Jan. 28 -- just two weeks removed from the Seminoles' 54-50 win against the Cavaliers in Tallahassee. Notre Dame, meanwhile, will return home for its next game and host Wake Forest on Jan. 29.

--Field Level Media

Team Record Comparison

Standings GB W-L Aw/Hm Stk L10
Notre Dame  
Florida State  

Hot Players (Last 10 team games)

--%>