Little has gone to plan of late for Florida State.
After a promising 5-1 start, the Seminoles have lost their last three games by a combined 85 points.
Florida State (5-4) hopes to snap that skid on Saturday afternoon when it takes on Massachusetts in the Orange Bowl Classic on Saturday afternoon in Sunrise, Fla.
While it was the same result, the team’s most recent loss to then-No. 8 Houston last Saturday was a step in the right direction as far as coach Luke Loucks was concerned.
It was an 82-67 setback, a much more competitive game against a highly regarded team than the prior consecutive losses by 30-plus points to Texas A&M and Georgia.
The Seminoles actually managed to finish with a 37-35 rebounding advantage over the Cougars. Not only was it their first time outrebounding a high-major opponent this season, it was the first time they weren’t outrebounded by 20-plus boards in one of these games.
“Especially with how poorly our last two games have gone, I was pleased with our compete level,” Loucks said after the Houston loss. “To outrebound one of the best rebounding teams in the country was certainly a step in the right direction.”
Robert McCray V has totaled 34 points over the last two games to take over the team lead at 14.1 points per game for the Seminoles.
The Minutemen (7-3) enter Saturday’s contest riding a four-game winning streak.
UMass is coming off a 76-74 win over in-state foe Boston College on Wednesday night. Marcus Banks Jr. led the charge with 29 points, including the game-winning free throws with 5.1 seconds left.
It was the second time in three games that Banks has scored 29, but he deferred the praise to his teammates. Daniel Hankins-Sanford added 17 points while Leonardo Bettiol had 12 to go along with eight boards.
“Big-time players make big-time plays, and all five of us did that tonight,” Banks said.
UMass outrebounded the Eagles 43-36 and held Boston College to 13.0% 3-point shooting. The Minutemen overcame 15 turnovers, which could be a potential problem against a Florida State team that forces 18.9 turnovers per game.
