Barclays Center
Brooklyn, New York
Time: Friday, 5:00 p.m. MST
TV: TruTV
What To Watch For:
The Mystery Of The Seminole's Missing Defense. For the past few years, Florida State has been the best defensive team in the nation, bar none. They led the country in defensive field goal percentage in both 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, and finished fifth last year. That is quite the dominating track record. However, something strange has happened to coach Leonard Hamilton's squad in their first two games this year — they are struggling to get stops. They dropped a shocker to South Alabama in their season opener, allowing the Jaguars to shoot 60 percent from deep on their way to racking up a whopping 76 points. In their next game, the Seminoles managed to fill it up themselves, coming away with a 95-68 win over Buffalo — but the Bulls still shot 50 percent from the floor. It would appear (so far) that this is not the FSU defense of years past. Then again, it is also possible that the first two games were mere aberrations, and that the Seminoles stand ready to crank up the heat on BYU's pressure-averse guards. Or maybe the defending ACC champions just really aren't that good this year. The answer to this question should go a long way toward determining the outcome of tonight's game.
"The Best Shooting Guard In The Country." Or so Florida State wingman Michael Snaer has called himself. And he could be right. Snaer is an elite perimeter defender with athleticism to burn, a solid outside shooter who just keeps improving, and — lest we forget — he has already displayed a knack for hitting big shots once or twice. His team may need some of that Snaer magic before tonight is over. The Seminoles' offense traditionally ranks somewhere between middling and mediocre, so they need their big guns to score consistently for them to win games against good teams. That didn't happen in the opener against South Alabama, in which Snaer was limited to just 10 points and his team lost in an upset. He performed better against Buffalo, with his 19 points playing a big role in a Florida State offensive explosion. Snaer is the kind of guard whose athleticism and ability to create his own shot has the potential to give BYU problems if he starts heating up. If they can contain him early, keeping a lid on his teammates should be much easier.
Turning Defense Into Offense. Florida State isn't the type of team that BYU usually excels against. The Cougar guards often struggle handling the ball against pressure, and the Seminoles' length and athleticism around the rim could bother Brandon Davies' offensive game. The best way for coach Dave Rose's team to circumvent these offensive issues is, contrary to what one might think, to play great defense. As detailed above, Florida State is not a great — or even good — offensive team. They struggle to score, and they miss a lot of shots in the process. If BYU can continue to force them into missed shots, and then immediately push the ball to turn those defensive rebounds into fast break possessions going the other direction, that should keep the Seminoles on their heels and limit their opportunities to pressure the basketball in the half-court. However, if the Cougars play poor defense and allow Florida State to get easy makes, they will be forced to walk the ball up and deal with Michael Snaer and company living inside their jerseys all night long. Put simply, a win depends on BYU's success on the defensive end.
This is a big one — the first real test of the season. Despite their early season stumble, Florida State is still a very good basketball team, and the Cougars will have to play very, very well to win. Given that this will also be the team's first game away from the friendly confines of the Marriott Center this year, the task will likely be even more difficult. Nevertheless, this is certainly a winnable game. BYU has the talent and depth to get the job done — now they just need to do it. We should learn a lot about this team in the next few hours.
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