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The optimism surrounding the Florida State basketball program is reaching much further than Tallahassee. National media outlets are beginning to pick up that Luke Loucks and company are building something special.
Loucks has been able to land a top-20 recruiting class and several proven transfers. Despite all of this, they will face an uphill battle in the hyper-competitive ACC.
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CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander released a preseason poll for all of college basketball, and the Seminoles debuted at No. 62 out of 100. Ahead of some tournament teams from last season, like SMU at No. 63 and Utah State at No. 67.
At No. 1 was this year’s top seed, Florida, unanimously, followed by Duke at No. 2 and Virginia at No. 11.
Here was Norlander’s take on FSU:
If Luke Loucks is the real deal, then I’m going to be wrong and have FSU at least 15 spots off the mark. Sixty-two happens to be where FSU finished in KenPom last season, coincidentally enough. The Seminoles turned over almost the entire roster after an 18-15 tour that included a 10-3 record in their last 13 games.
This could be FSU’s first season of 20-plus wins since the 2019-20 season that could’ve seen the ‘Noles make a Final Four. Loucks has brought some run-and-fun style to Tallahassee, putting up 80.4 points per game and ranking top-30 in tempo. In addition to four four-star freshmen who will make FSU a higher-rated team a year from now, there’s a potpourri of transfers that I expect to be led by UNC Asheville transfer Kameron Taylor and Colorado forward speedster Sebastian Rancik. Freshman C Marcis Ponder might eventually turn into the most undeniable college basketball rebounder since Zach Edey.
To even have Marcis Ponder in the same conversation as Purdue’s Zach Edey is incredible by modern college basketball standards. If the Seminoles can win with him at center, this could be the beginning of the return to dominance at Florida State that it has so desperately wanted in recent years.
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Loucks and the Seminoles…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/florida-state-basketball-named-cbs-180339456.html
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Publish date : 2026-10-27 18:03:00
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