In the midst of its final road trip of the regular season, the Florida State men’s basketball team headed up to Chestnut Hill, Mass., immediately following Saturday's loss at Duke to face Boston College on short rest.
Tipoff is set for tonight at 7 p.m. on ACC Network.
The quick turnaround for the Seminoles (14-12, 7-9 ACC), which was caused by a December game being rescheduled, will test an FSU squad already reeling from significant injuries to five former starters.
Shortly after his team's loss at Duke, FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said the Seminoles would travel to BC on Saturday night and then take things light on Sunday in preparation for the next game.
“From an energy standpoint, we can’t be too overly aggressive, because we are playing with a short deck,” Hamilton said. “I’m sure the guys are going to be somewhat fatigued.”
*** Don't miss out on any of our great FSU sports coverage. Get your 30-day FREE trial ***
Boston College (9-16, 4-11 ACC) also is coming back on a short rest after losing Saturday at Syracuse. The Eagles are riding a five-game losing streak and have dropped seven of their last eight, including a blowout loss to the Orange.
While playing two games in three days isn’t ideal, Hamilton said it’s nothing compared to the uncertainty and fluidity of the COVID-impacted slate last year, or other stretches he’s seen before.
“They played today, too. They traveled back to Boston, so we are both under the same circumstances. This is college basketball; it’s not as bad as it has been,” Hamilton said. “Those four games in eight days, try that on for size. That’s extremely challenging.”
Technically, Florida State’s beleaguered roster has seen seen the same struggles as the Eagles in recent weeks -- the ' Noles also have lost seven of their last eight. But a win against Clemson last Tuesday plus a strong first-half showing versus Duke has Hamilton sounding more positive.
“We just got beat by a better team, but it wasn’t for lack of effort. I thought the effort was excellent. The body language, the verbal communication in the huddle and on the court, I thought was all positive,” Hamilton said. “They’re showing that they’re growing up and we can count on those guys in the future.”
"Those guys," mainly the freshman backcourt duo of Matthew Cleveland and Jalen Warley, have shown serious flashes of improvement down the stretch for FSU after being forced into starting roles.
Both high-profile recruits, they combined to shoot 13-of-23 from the floor for 31 points as FSU’s top two leading scorers at Duke. Warley set a new career-high, while Cleveland has scored in double figures in each of the past five outings.
Hamilton praised Cleveland and Warley for the confidence they showed in each other and in themselves against Duke’s pressure in a hostile environment.
The reason the freshman duo has been forced into the limelight is because of the litany of injuries FSU has dealt with this season, particularly in the backcourt.
Senior Anthony Polite is still out nursing a wrist injury, while Hamilton said he doesn’t feel confident FSU’s leading scorer Caleb Mills will be able to play against Boston College. On senior RayQuan Evans, Hamilton added, “there’s a chance” that he could possibly be able to play tonight.
For Boston College, first-year head coach Earl Grant mans a program that has finished with a winning record just once in the past 11 seasons. Top two leading-scorers Makai Ashton-Langford and DeMarr Langford Jr., are brothers from nearby Worcester, Mass., and both average over 11 points per game.
“We have to find a way. This is the schedule that we have to play," Hamilton said of the quick turnaround. "I’m sure there are stretches that every team in the ACC will go through where they are somewhat challenging and similar. Maybe they don’t have all the injuries that we have, but that’s the luck of the draw for us right now. But we just have to find a way to overcome it.”
----------------------------------------------------
Discuss this with fans on Warchant's Seminole Hoops message board
