Busting Brackets
Fansided

ACC Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2019-20 season

By Brian Rauf

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 05: Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils drives past Jordan Chatman #25 of the Boston College Eagles during the second half of their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 05, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 80-55. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 05: Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils drives past Jordan Chatman #25 of the Boston College Eagles during the second half of their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 05, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 80-55. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 21: M.J. Walker #23 of the Florida State Seminoles reacts to a call in the first half of the first round game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament against the Vermont Catamounts at XL Center on March 21, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 21: M.J. Walker #23 of the Florida State Seminoles reacts to a call in the first half of the first round game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament against the Vermont Catamounts at XL Center on March 21, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

435. . Last Year: 29-8 (13-5). . Seminoles . 6. team

This Florida State team is not as talented as the one that finished second in the conference in 2017, and they’re not as good as the teams that made the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend each of the last two seasons.

But that doesn’t mean they won’t be good.

The Seminoles will be one of the country’s biggest teams (again) and will be elite defensively (again), but they have to replace their two best players in Mfiondu Kabengele and Terance Mann.

Considering that depth was one of FSU’s biggest assets during this stretch, the ‘Noles have the bodies to stay strong. Someone is still going to have to step up and become a go-to guy to pick up the slack left by Kabengele and Mann, and former five-star prospect M.J. Walker looks to be the guy.

Now a junior, Walker has the skills to make “the leap” if he can become a more consistent and smarter offensive player. He showed what he can do when he puts it together when he scored 22 points against Miami and 21 in an overtime win against LSU last year, but hasn’t been able to string together games like that yet.

It doesn’t have to be Walker but someone – or somebodies – are going to have to step up to fill the void left by Kabengele and Mann. Expect the Seminoles to make it back to the NCAA Tournament, but don’t expect another long run because of that lack of top-end production.