Florida State Basketball: Seminoles are legit national title contenders

Defense travels. Defense wins.

When you think of Leonard Hamilton, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Well, it should be defense, because that is typically what his teams excel at.

Coach Hamilton usually has a stable of seven-foot rim protectors and wings that shoot the gaps leading to easy buckets in transition. We have talked about the individuals of this roster with Trent Forrest, Devin Vassell, and Anthony Polite, but this team defends as a unit as well as anyone in the country as well.

Florida State currently allows opponents 81.1 possessions per game, which ranks 223rd in the nation (essentially just a tempo statistic). In those 81 possessions, though, they are only surrendering 62.7 points per possession (according to Synergy). That mark ranks 57th in the nation.

Their 0.77 points per possession rank in the 93rd percentile in the nation while they are ranked at 17th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency by KenPom.

That’s all well and good you might think, but what about the meat? The easy numbers might be what you are looking for. I hear you and here they are:

• The ‘Noles rank 17th in the nation in total blocks with 89. In fact, five Seminoles average at least 0.5 blocks per game.
• Florida State ranks nineteenth in the nation in total steals with 152 on the season. The quartet of Vassell, Forrest, Polite and forward Raiquan Gray all average at least 1.2 while Patrick Williams and Malik Osborne both average 0.9 per contest.
• Turnovers you may ask? The Seminoles rank fifth in Kenpom’s defensive turnover percentage at 26.2% and have forced the 17th-most in the nation at 294 on the season.

Florida State featured good guard play, stifling defense, and is a proven winner on the road. This is all held together by possibly the most underrated X’s-and-O’s coaching staff in the nation. Florida State is not only a Final Four contender but a national title dark horse.