Miami vs Florida State: 2019-20 key storylines for Sunshine State clash
The Miami Hurricanes await a date with the first-place Florida State Seminoles this weekend. Although Miami has failed to show any ability to hang with a team like Florida State so far this year, if things play out just right, they might just have a shot to pull off the ACC Basketball upset.
Whenever two schools hailing from the same territory meet on the hardwood, college basketball fans are more often than not treated with exciting demonstrations of competitiveness and passion from the game’s tip-off, all the way until its concluding buzzer. Awaiting their chance to play into this phenomenon on Saturday, the Miami Hurricanes and Florida State Seminoles continue to prepare for what poises to be an intriguing ACC matchup.
With conference play now fully underway, Florida State finds themselves not firmly, but nonetheless, present in the ACC driver’s seat. Amidst a season apparently hell-bent on seeing highly ranked teams lose to unexpectedly, expect FSU and other ACC teams to continue to shuffle around in the standings. But for the time being, Florida State appears as the best team the conference has to offer thus far.
After watching Terance Mann and Mfiondu Kabengele move onto the NBA last summer, few expected Florida State to not only match their success from last year but appear on track to surpass it roughly halfway through the season. As they continue to exceed expectations, the school itself appears sold on the team as well, as stories continue to swell rumoring a potential contract extension for head coach Leonard Hamilton, certainly rewarding him for his team’s exceptional start this year.
Although the Seminoles may share their top spot with Duke as the two teams both boast their 5-1 conference records, the Hurricanes continue stagger behind with a decent, yet unimpressive record that frankly lacks any noteworthy victories. This game against the Florida State offers Miami a chance to change things, however, and in order to do so, an efficient offensive attack will need to come first.