Florida State Basketball: 2018-19 keys to success at home against Duke

3 of 4

GAINESVILLE, FL – DECEMBER 04: Phil Cofer #0 and Terance Mann #14 of the Florida State Seminoles block out Egor Koulechov #4 of the Florida Gators during a NCAA basketball game at the Stephen C. O’ Connell Center on December 4, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images) /

2. Be competitive on the defensive glass

The next key for the Seminoles comes on the defensive end as they must hold their own on the defensive boards against the that ranks 5th in the country in offensive rebounds per game with 14.93. This is going to be a huge key for Florida State, as not only is Duke an elite shooting team at 49.8%, when they do miss, they are one of the best at getting their team second-chance opportunities.

The Seminoles will have to be better than they have been this season, both in field-goal defense, which will lead to defensive rebounds where they snatch just 24.47 per game, which puts them 260th in the nation. As a team, they have four players who have grabbed at least 40 defensive rebounds on the season, led by Trent Forrest and Terance Mann who have grabbed 58 and 56 respectively.

The big man duo of Mfiondu Kabengele and Christ Koumadje have grabbed 94. While those numbers don’t sound bad, contrast that with Williamson who has grabbed 50 offensive rebounds on the year and the three next best offensive rebounders, Bolden, DeLaurier, and White have nearly as many offensive boards (81), as Kabengele and Koumadje have defensive.

Home/Florida State Seminoles