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Contact: Chris Sabanosh / csabanosh@jfqlending.com / (480) 562-6267
Here's a stat for you.
One that really hammers home just what this Florida State men's basketball program has become.
Since the start of the 2017-2018 season, Virginia is now 2-3 against the Seminoles. And 61-8 against everyone else in the ACC.
Tony Bennett's team rips through the conference seemingly every year and gets ranked in the Top 10 every year. And yet in the last three-plus seasons, he's won just 40 percent of his games against Leonard Hamilton, while winning 88.4 percent against every ACC coach not named Leonard Hamilton.
The latest example came Monday night in No. 16 FSU's 81-60 thrashing of the No. 7 Cavaliers.
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The evidence has been mounting for years now, of course. Florida State has become one of the best programs in the United States. It's reached Sweet 16s and Elite Eights and won conference titles.
What happened Monday night was just another reminder -- a slap in the face to anyone not paying attention -- that the Seminoles are once again an ACC juggernaut and once again a legitimate Final Four contender.
Because, buddy, when they play like they did on Monday night, they're as good as anyone in the country. Just like they were last year. And the year before that, and the year before that.
"Florida State is unlike a lot of teams you'll play," Bennett said after the 21-point loss. "Because they make every catch hard. They switch every screen. ... It challenges you. You've got to handle the ball because they're there. And they bring in waves of guys. That was tough. And their athleticism and size is real.
"Florida State was really good tonight."
Or, as Bennett knows as well as anyone, Florida State is just good, period.
If they can win on Saturday against Virginia Tech, assuming the game is played (the Hokies have had postponements recently because of COVID-19), the Seminoles will be in the Top 10 again.
One year after losing so much talent and so much leadership from a Final Four-caliber squad.
Maybe we've reached a point where these columns won't be worth writing anymore (not that you would EVER think that about a Corey Clark piece!), because they're getting to be redundant.
Florida State is an established program now. One that is going to be around for a while. One that isn't surprised when it beats Virginia. Even by 21 points.
It's just what the Seminoles do.
