Florida State can’t afford to look past Troy on Friday night in Tallahassee, Fla. The last time the teams played, Troy recorded a 79-72 victory in Tallahassee in 2022.
The Seminoles (1-0) are off to a good start this season, routing Florida A&M, 113-69, Monday night on a neutral court in Tampa, Fla.
Now the Seminoles are back home, and they will look for another dominant performance from “Baby Shaq” Marcis Ponder. The 7-foot, 285-pounder posted 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in 20 minutes against the Rattlers.
Ponder is the first Florida State freshman to debut with a double-double in 18 years.
Sebastian Rancik led the Seminoles with a career-high 25 points on Monday.
“He was in attack mode,” Florida State coach Luke Loucks said of Rancik, who averaged 12.3 points for Colorado last season.
The Seminoles’ other starters on Monday were Anthony Robinson II (16 points, eight rebounds), Kameron Taylor (15 points) and Shon Abaev (six points, game-high six assists and no turnovers).
The Seminoles likely will face a tougher test from the Trojans (0-1), who dropped a 71-60 decision to Massachusetts in their season opener on Monday.
“It’s never acceptable to lose at home,” Troy coach Adam Howard said.
Troy was beaten in almost every category, including fast-break points (18-4), and that’s an area that speedy Florida State will try to exploit on Friday.
However, this is a proud Trojans program that went 22-12 last season, winning the Sun Belt Conference under coach Scott Cross. But after Cross bolted for the top job at Georgia Tech, Howard was brought in from North Carolina State, where he was an assistant.
The Trojans have won the Sun Belt regular season (shared title in 2024-25) and postseason titles in each of the past two years, but all the starters from those teams are gone.
One player who showed promise on Tuesday for the Trojans was guard Donovan Oday, who had a game-high 21 points and garnered 12 rebounds.
“Donovan has an unbelievable motor,” Howard said of Oday, who averaged 18.6 points last season for Northern Kentucky.
“We got him a month ago, and he’s our offensive engine.”
Jacoi Hutchinson, who had 10 points, five assists and just two turnovers on Tuesday, is another player to watch. He averaged 12.3 points and 3.2 assists last season for Longwood.
As for Florida State, Howard said the Seminoles are an NCAA Tournament team.
“They’re really talented,” Howard said. “They’re as big as U-Mass, and a bit more athletic at guard.”
–Field Level Media
