3 takeaways as FSU Basketball loses fifth straight game, falls to Dayton Flyers

Florida State basketball just cannot get a rhythm going. They entered Tuesday's game against the Dayton Flyers having lost four straight games, and it wouldn't get any easier in this road contest.

And it was a mismatch from the beginning. Dayton jumped out to a 20-10 lead after 11 minutes, as FSU's cold shooting traveled north. But they were also weirdly physical, and a lot of guys were in foul trouble almost immediately. By halftime, three players had three fouls, and Robert McCray V picked up a fourth foul to start the second half.

They went with another new starting lineup, inserting AJ Swinton into the lineup in place of a center, so FSU was playing extra small against a team with a true 7-footer. Surprisingly, the rebounding wasn't the issue, but they were getting worked in just about every other facet.

Turnovers were a constant issue, especially in the first half, as FSU's ball-handlers didn't have the athleticism or the speed to get by Dayton's press, and that led to 10 first-half turnovers. And it didn't help that FSU's shooting was again letting them down.

Kobe MaGee helped make it a closer game at the end of the first half, hitting a few threes to briefly bring the deficit back down to single digits, but Dayton got the lead up to 20 by midway through the second half. It helped them that they kept getting the benefit of the whistle (FSU was fouling, but some of the calls were ridiculous), and they ended up shooting 47 free throws.

In the end, Dayton would go on to win 97-69, extending FSU's losing streak to 5. They'll face Mississippi Valley State on Friday. Here are three takeaways from this game.

FINAL: Florida State falls to Dayton 97-69

Ugly doesn't even begin to describe this one. Free throws were the biggest difference, but very little went well for FSU. Now at 5 straight losses

NEXT: vs Mississippi Valley State on Friday, the worst D1 team#Noles pic.twitter.com/slxGEdTsN8
— Austin Veazey (@EasyVeazeyNG) December 17, 2025

1. FSU's Frontcourt is Worse Than I Imagined

I said entering the season that the team's frontcourt was its biggest weakness. I didn't expect it to be this bad. The center play was one thing, but Chauncey Wiggins had been really bad this last few games, and ended up scoreless in this one. Thomas Bassong hardly played.

Part of the reason they're fouling so much is that they don't have the talent down low to defend the interior correctly, so they're trying to make up for it by forcing turnovers and being handsy, but they're a little out of control with it. But Chauncey Wiggins can't be playing this badly.

2. No Games Will be Won With This Kind of Free Throw Differential

Florida State was fouling a lot. I'm not arguing that. But a free-throw disparity of 47 attempts for Dayton to 27 for FSU is a little absurd. Some of it was out of clear frustration, but as I said above, they're too handsy because of the lack of quality interior defenders. Five players ended up fouling out

This was a concerning game as far as a composure standpoint. There were a lot of technical and flagrant fouls in this game, and while it was chippy, it's not the standard you want to set.

3. This Team Just Doesn't Have the Talent

Florida State has one of the worst NIL situations in power conference basketball. This team was never going to be good this year. But there have been some very concerning moments in the last five games. I'm willing to have more patience than most because I know this is going to take years to fix. But this is going to be a long season unless some guys can start making some shots, play some defense, and stop fouling.

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