25 Jan 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Florida State Seminole’s guard Jamir Watkins (1) is watching during the first half against Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Pictures With two sinking Atlantic Coast Conference team in a mid -week fight, the best news for both teams may be that someone has to win a victory when Virginia Tech meets Florida State on Wednesday in Tallahassee, FLA.
Florida State (13-7, 4-5 ACC) has lost its last two matches despite fantastic efforts from forward Jamir Watkins. Senior ahead has been combined to get 38 points and take 16 returns in these two losses, typical production for a season where he average 18.6 points per match. Unfortunately, his reliability has been the exception for Seminoles.
“The biggest challenge all year for us has been consistency,” said Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton last week. “If you looked at the last pair of home games, you would have thought we would come out and play another game, but we didn’t. … We have to find a way to develop a little more texture and passion.”
With a loss of 78-71 on Stanford on Saturday, Florida State fell to 1-5 on the road, but Seminoles is 8-2 in the season at home, which should bind well for Virginia Tech match.
At the same time, Virginia Tech (8-12, 3-6) has lost its last three matches, most recently a 72-57 defeat at home against Clemson. The hokies have been offensive throughout the season, on average only 69.5 points per match, barely within the 300 best in the Division I. In its three-game ski, Virginia Tech has failed to top 64 points or shoot 41 percent in one of These losses.
“We get to the route of all these games when it’s winning time and you have to continue playing good basketball,” Hokies coach Mike Young said. “They have the right intentions, but do not get a quick shot or a defensive mistake from a person seems to bite us in the back.”
Virginia Tech is led by forward Toibu Lawal with 12.6 points per match. Lawal (when a beginner) and Florida State’s Watkins (when a second) were teammates at VCU 2022-23.
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