The Florida State men’s basketball team is badly in need of a “get-right” game. The Seminoles are losers of five straight contests, with four of the five coming by 15+ points. During this stretch of stink, FSU’s ranking on KenPom has plummeted from a high of 57th on November 28th to 118th.
If ever there were an opponent tailor-made to be a get-right game, it’s the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils. The visitors from Itta Bena, MS are 0-10 this season against Division 1 opponents and sit 365th—dead last—in the aforementioned KenPom rankings. MVSU comes to Tallahassee following an 88-64 home defeat at the hands of Tarleton State earlier this week.
Florida State Seminoles vs. Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils: How to watch, stream, odds
There’s a strong case to be made that FSU’s NCAA Tournament chances are already kaput. With a NET ranking of 149, the string of blowout losses will likely be too much to overcome on the metric side of things, even if FSU scored a few surprising upsets in ACC play.
Having said that, despite the lopsided nature of the losses, the ‘Noles only have 1 loss below Quad 2 and there will be plenty of Q1 and Q2 opportunities in ACC play. So in theory, if the team found a way to rack up 5-6 wins that are much more lopsided than the computers anticipate, perhaps Luke Loucks and Co. could at least make things interesting come February.
Any attempt at walking that narrow path needs to start tonight. Florida State’s early season rise was due to throttling a handful of teams less-bad than MVS by 25+ points. If the Seminoles don’t win by at least 35 tonight, it’s another sign that something has materially changed with the team over the last month.