9. Florida State Seminoles - 10-4 (1-2)
In a conference filled with teams underachieving compared to preseason expectations, Florida State has stood out in a positive way, being much more competitive. Still, against good teams, we’ve seen their defense fall apart.
That includes a couple of weeks ago when the Seminoles were at home against Louisville. They gave up 54 second-half points to fall 90-76, allowing 15 made three-pointers. Their top two players, Jamir Watkins (25 points) and Malique Ewin (17), had good games, but no one else was in double figures.
In the lone game for FSU this past week, they hosted the Syracuse Orange. It was a close game at the halftime break, but this time around, Florida State scored 54 second-half points to win 90-74. Watkins and Ewin combined for 30 points and 12 rebounds, but they got help in the starting lineup, with Daquan Davis scoring 18 points and Taylor Bol Bowen producing 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Seminoles have a rough 10 games coming up, taking on Miami and Clemson on the road, followed by a home battle with Pittsburgh. This will be a good test to see if this team can contend for a top-half spot or if the overachieving Seminoles will take a step back.