ACC Basketball power rankings: Florida State takes top spot as Duke tumbles

Head coach Leonard Hamilton has Florida State looking primed for a run at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles are currently on a massive nine-game winning streak, containing wins over Florida, Clemson, Lousiville, Virginia, and Miami. Florida State is still in the top-20 in KenPom (No. 16) and led by a dominant defense and an extremely balanced scoring attack. 2020 NBA Draft prospect Devin Vassell is shooting 38.1% from the 3-point line while collecting 1.2 blocks and 1.7 steals per game and has had some big performances over FSU’s winning streak.

Vassell, the Seminoles’ leading scorer at 13.2 points per game, scored 23 points in Saturday’s OT win over Miami. He had an all-around stat line, chipping in 11 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks. With Vassell leading the way the Seminoles have been able to both pickup comfortable wins, as in their 13-point win at Louisville, and nail-biting ones, like the four-point win against Virginia.

Hamilton’s 2019-20 Florida State team has seven players that are shooting at least 35% from 3-point range, making them a tough team to beat when they are driving to the rim aggressively. Besides a season-opening two-point loss to Pittsburgh, Florida State has looked unstoppable in ACC play. The Seminoles are a perfect 9-0 at home and have picked up four important road wins to this point of the season.

Leonard Hamilton’s squad isn’t showing any signs of slowing down and with a home matchup against Notre Dame (No. 61 in KenPom) on January 25, the Seminoles have a great chance to pick up another solid win ahead of showdown with Virginia on January 28.