Sold-out, blacked-out crowd should be rocking for FSU tonight vs. Irish

The Florida State men's basketball team has played before sold-out crowds at home before. That is not all that unusual.

What will be different tonight is that the roughly 12,000 fans in attendance will primarily be there to watch -- and appreciate -- their No. 5-ranked Florida State Seminoles. They won't be focused on a highly ranked opponent or a superstar player like Zion Williamson, who helped pack the Tucker Center last January.

While Notre Dame is obviously a draw in just about every sport, this hasn't been a particularly impressive season for the Fighting Irish. They are 11-7 overall, 2-5 in the ACC, and they have dropped three of their last four games.

So when the Seminoles (16-2, 6-1) look up at an entirely filled arena tonight at 8 p.m. (ACC Network), they'll know that they really are the main attraction.

“For all the fans to show up just for us, it’s crazy,” FSU sophomore guard Devin Vassell said on Thursday, two days before the game. "I'm excited. It's going to be a fun game. Everybody in black. It's going to be fun."

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Indeed, not only will the Tucker Center be packed to capacity, but it has been billed as a "black out game," so the 'Noles will be sporting the all-black uniforms that they typically only wear on the road and fans will be encouraged to wear black as well.

All combined -- a rare Saturday night tip-off, a sold-out crowd and a "black out" game -- should make for one of the more memorable home environments in recent history. And it's not as if the Seminoles have been lacking in that area. Boosted by improving support, FSU has won 58 of its last 61 home games.

"I'm excited that we seem to have a love affair going with our fans," said FSU coach Leonard Hamilton, whose team earned a top-five ranking this week for the first time since the early 1970s. "We are so appreciative, because now we are starting to give people a little dose of the medicine that we get when we go on the road. And it's just what the doctor ordered."

"We love when the fans are as engaged in the game as we are," sophomore forward Malik Osborne said. "You're gonna get it from us, and you're gonna get it from our fans as well."

Florida State is favored by 8 points, according to Vegas oddsmakers, but the Seminoles know all too well that they will be challenged by the Irish.

Senior forward John Mooney is one of the most productive big men in the country, averaging 15.7 points and 13.9 rebounds per game. (Hamilton called him a "double-double machine.")

Notre Dame also is a prolific 3-point shooting team, led by senior T.J. Gibbs, who is shooting over 40 percent from long range -- and even better than that in ACC play.

Virginia Tech is the only team in the ACC that has attempted or made more 3-pointers than the Irish.

"They're one of the top teams in America in 3-point attempts," Hamilton said. "They shoot a lot of 3s, and they're very effective."

While Notre Dame's record is not impressive, the Irish have fallen victim to a number of narrow defeats. They lost to Syracuse this week by two points, and before that they fell to Louisville by three, N.C. State by five, Indiana by two and Boston College by one.

"This team can shoot with any other team in the country," Osborne said.

Not only has Devin Vassell emerged as Florida State's top scorer as a sophomore -- he is averaging 13.2 points per game -- but he also was honored this week for his defensive prowess.

The athletic guard was one of 15 players in the country named to the Watch List for the Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year Award.

He is one of only two players in the ACC who is ranked in the top 10 for both steals and blocked shots, and he has been pivotal in the Seminoles' impressive first half of the 2019-20 season.

"Coach Ham preaches defense all the time, and I kind of came in this year just emphasizing defense and getting stronger," Vassell said.

FSU could see a return of freshman center Balsa Koprivica tonight against Notre Dame. The talented 7-footer, who is averaging 6.0 points and shooting better than 80 percent from the field, has missed the last few games with a back injury.

Hamilton said Koprivica is "very close" to returning to action.

The Seminoles, meanwhile, could be without freshman forward Patrick Williams. Hamilton said Williams, who is averaging 8.1 points and 3.2 rebounds, is dealing with a minor toe injury.

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