Florida State attempts to salvage one win in its two-game West Coast swing when it visits Stanford in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon.
The Seminoles (13-6, 4-4 ACC) began their trip with a 77-68 loss at Cal on Wednesday, shooting just 3-of-15 from 3-point range.
Florida State allowed 24 offensive rebounds Wednesday, which does not bode well as it prepares to face one of the nation’s top big men in Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud.
The 7-foot-1 All-America candidate entered Friday averaging the third-most rebounds per game in Division I at 11.6. He leads the country with 16 double-doubles, including five in a row in ACC games. He had 28 points and 12 rebounds in the Cardinal’s 88-51 home shellacking of Miami on Wednesday.
Despite Raynaud’s recent success, Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton trusts his defense, which leads the ACC with 5.5 blocks per game.
“To be successful, you have to be a strong defensive team,” Hamilton said. “To compete successfully against the coaches we’ve had to coach against, you’ve got to do something different to win games. That’s what we have done, and that’s the kind of defensive-minded players we have recruited.”
Stanford (13-6, 5-3) has won four of its last five games as it continues the most home-heavy portion of its conference schedule. The Cardinal will play four of their next five games on their home court.
Stanford posted an impressive 72-71 win at North Carolina on Jan. 18, but Raynaud said that coach Kyle Smith is intent on not letting that victory lead to overconfidence in a very deep conference.
“Coach talked about handling success. Keep getting better. Sustain a (high) level and get better,” Raynaud said. “And we just played that way (against Miami).”
Raynaud is the ACC’s top scorer at 21.2 points per game. The Cardinal also get 14.7 points from Jaylen Blakes and 13.9 from fellow guard Oziyah Sellers.
Jamir Watkins powers Florida State with 18.5 points per game, while Malique Ewin chips in 14.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest.
–Field Level Media
