After 5 straight wins, Seminoles focused on staying sharp vs. Wake
You might be worried about Florida State, which has won five straight ACC games, being overconfident heading into Wednesday night's against Wake Forest at the Tucker Center.
Well, you're not alone.
The coaching staff for the No. 19 Seminoles is doing anything and everything it can to make sure the players take the Demon Deacons as seriously as they did Louisville on Saturday.
"I'm not real sure there has been anything we haven't used," FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton said. "We've gone back and gotten quotes from everybody except James Naismith to try to keep everybody in check."
They've also brought up the Pitt game and the Boston College game. A lot.
Yes, the Seminoles have won five consecutive games and are one of the hottest teams in the league. Yes, they won at Syracuse and beat Louisville in the same week. But they also lost to bottom-dwellers Pitt and Boston College in back-to-back games.
Just a few weeks ago, they were 1-4 in the ACC.
So nobody's taking any bows over at the FSU basketball complex these days.
"We haven't earned the right to have the big head yet," Hamilton said. "We haven't had enough success. ... We have the lingering effects of the Pittsburgh and Boston College games to keep us in check.
"We bring up everything imaginable that we can think of, dream of, read and research. We try not to leave anything to chance. No question we have mentioned it. We talked about where we were this time last year. We talked about the negative effect of losing a game, especially at home."
So yeah, the Seminoles' players have heard it all.
They can look at the standings. They know that Wake Forest is 9-13 overall and 2-8 in the league.
They also know they lost to the Demon Deacons a season ago. And they lost to Pitt and Boston College this season.
So the message from the coaching staff is simple: Every team in the ACC -- literally every single one -- is capable of beating you if you don't play well and play hard.
"Definitely," senior Terance Mann said. "Just as quickly as we can go on a five-game winning streak in this league, you can go downhill and lose a couple of games. So you keep that in the back of your mind and keep yourself motivated."
Wake Forest is coming off of a 78-76 win over Pitt in its last game. Before that, the Demon Deacons had lost five straight games, including four by at least 16 points. But they also have a win over N.C. State this season.
So they are capable.
Brandon Childress, son of ACC legend Randolph Childress, leads the Deacs in scoring at 15.3 points per game. Forward Jaylen Hoard averages 14 points and 8.4 rebounds.
Florida State, of course, is coming off an emotional overtime win over Louisville on Saturday.
Junior guard Trent Forrest said the Seminoles have to sustain the energy they showed against the Cardinals on Wednesday night and beyond.
"We've got to be more locked in and focused," he said. "After that Duke loss, we were so spent emotionally we weren't able to regenerate that energy (after an emotional game). I feel like now we know what to expect. We know what to do."
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