FSU Men's basketball is coming off an 0-2 week. Time to panic?

  The Florida State Seminoles men's basketball team went 0-2 last week in their first road games. Both games were lost by 10 points, as well. In a stretch which was thought to have been the 'Noles' first true tests, dropping both doesn't raise any green flags. People may think "They can't beat anyone good" or "The offensive struggles are still there from years prior". While these may be warranted thoughts, I don't think it's time to hit the panic button on the 'Noles.

    The losses against LSU and NC State were chances for FSU to build their resume for March early in the season, as LSU (56 in NET) would've been a Quad 1 win and NC State (108 in NET) would have fallen into the Quad 3 category. However, the Noles picked up two quality (hopefully) losses early in the season. But that's the key. It's still early. There are still two out of conference games for FSU to play before we get into the heart of conference ball. These next two games will be an absolutely massive stretch. If FSU can head into conference play with nine wins, everything is still ahead of them. 

LSU

    The LSU game was probably a little more alarming. After holding a slim two points lead at halftime, the Noles were outscored 53-40 in the second half for their second loss of the season. The FSU offense seemed to be completely stagnant for long periods throughout the second and the Tigers started to rain threes from deep. LSU guards Cam Carter and Jordan Sears completely took this game over as they combined for 47 points.

    Watkins was slightly off this game. He finished with 15 points, yet another double digit scoring night, but did not shoot great from the floor. Jamir was 2-10 from the floor for the majority of the game which isn't exactly ideal for the Noles. Malique Ewin was one of the only bright spots on the team in the second half. He finished with a double-double on the night, recording 17 points and 17 rebounds. 

    Free throws were also a struggle. FSU finished shooting 59% from the line, missing 9 of their 22 attempts. Something that was surprising was how LSU dictated this game. LSU's pace of play ranked 138th in the nation, but in this game they gave FSU a taste of their own medicine. LSU stole the ball nine times in this game and scored 20 points off turnovers. This is something we are used to seeing from FSU, but that Tuesday night the Tigers prevailed. 

    It was a frustrating showing, but there was positives in many aspects of this Seminoles team. Coming into this game, rebounding was a major concern. LSU was the 28th best rebounding team in the entire country and FSU had many close rebounding battles, even with team much smaller than them. However, as the final buzzer sounded, even in defeat, the Noles won the rebound battle 45-43, with 22 offensive rebounds. That was by far the most rebounds the Seminoles recorded on the season and it came against one of the best rebounding teams out there.  

    Ewin's performance in this game is also something that bodes well for the future of the Seminoles. He's been getting better and better as the season has gone on, setting three career highs in scoring since the game against Temple. LSU's defensive scheme being a 2-3 zone was concerning as I wondered how Ewin would fair against the bigs. It's safe to say he was stellar. If he continues to play at this high of a level, there will be success for the Noles down the road. 

NC STATE

    The NC State game hurt because that was a game that FSU probably SHOULD have won. Going into the game, I wrote that the biggest factor of the game would be the turnover battle. NC State still holds the bust turnover margin in the ACC at +4.60. Florida State was able to turn the Wolfpack over early in the game, but NC State ultimately adjusted and won the turnover battle 10-13. On the 13 FSU turnover, NC State score 21 points. 

    That's pretty much your ball game. You combine that with the fact that FSU shot an abysmal 18% from deep, and that's usually not a great formula for success. 

    Two NC State guards were able to take control of this game as well. And yes this is the exact same story from the LSU game. Marcus Hill scored 23 and Dontrez Styles scored 21. The Seminoles were able to handle the experienced bigs of NC State, holding Ben Middlebrooks to only four, but couldn't overcome another pair of opposing guards.

    The Seminoles seemingly had this game in the bag as they led 66-60 with only 3:44 left in the second. There was a questionable goaltending call that went against Jamir that pretty much turned the tide of this entire game. 

    Again there were still improvements across this FSU team. For the second straught game, FSU won the offensive rebound battle, 11-9. This area that has been under a microscope for much of this young season has seemed to have reached a point where the Noles can be competitive.

    This was also the first game that Jamir and Ewin seemed to have been really flowing in, especially with each other. Througnout the beginning of the season, at times it has seemed Watkins didn't know when to go score or dish it off the Malique underneath. In this game, however, Watkins got his and so did Malique. Watkins scored 25 points and Malique set another career high in scoring with 23 in his ACC debut. 

    Daquan Davis also had a good game in his first look at ACC play. The freshman guard finished with 11 points with a steal and a block. Davis was one of just three Noles to score a three in this game, as well. 

    Maybe the biggest positive of the night: FSU MADE FREE THROWS. The Noles finished an excellent 86.2% from the line. Hopefully this continues into conference play. 

So, is it time to panic?

    The answer to this question is no, not yet. The season is still young. They've gone through the first 10 games of the season and have won seven with the three losses being to quality opponents. It's not like FSU has been blown out in their losses either. The Noles were down only four againt UF with under five, lead by six with less than four to go against NC State, and down only 6 against LSU with less than three. This Seminoles team has competed with every team they have played against which is something that could not be said about last year's team.

     I would event argue that we have yet to see this FSU team play a complete game. We've only seen flashes of different bits and pieces. There have been games where they shoot well but struggle on the boards. In their last two games they rebounded well, but couldn't score efficiently. The one consistent thing this team has is the effort on the defensive end of the floor. Guys 1-11 in the roation come in and guard their hearts out. The energy this team plays with is so much fun to watch and I think the more they play with each other the better they will get.

    As mentioned earlier, these two games were the first two true road games for this team. Hopefully, the learned what they need to adjust and will now have experience playing in two hostile environments. Usually, good things come from these early lessons. 

    As you are reading this, the Noles are 65th on the Kenpom ranking. They're right on the doorstep and everything is still in front of them.

FSU takes on Tulane this Friday in the Orange Bowl Classic.