3 takeaways as FSU Basketball is dominated by SEC foe Georgia Bulldogs

Florida State hosted the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday night as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge, hoping not to fall to 0-3 against the SEC this season. But they were going to need a much better showing than they put up against Texas A&M on Friday night.

Unfortunately, this one also got ugly quick. Florida State just once again couldn't hit shots in the first half. They were down by double-digits less than nine minutes into the game, and while an 8-0 run gave them a little sign of life, a bad shot from Cam Miles stopped any momentum from building, and the Seminoles found themselves down by 20 before the end of the first half, and they entered the break 4/18 from three, 4/10 from the free-throw line, and 4/12 on layups and free throws.

That's not going to win you any games, and the lack of offensive success was spilling over to the defense, because they couldn't get set against a team that plays even faster than them. Georgia was just a much more talented and more athletic team, and it was on full display on Tuesday night.

In the end, Georgia would go on to win 107-73, and the schedule won't get any easier, as they'll play Houston on Saturday night in the Rockets' arena.

Here are three takeaways from this ugly loss, their second one in a row.

Dec 2, 2025; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Luke Loucks during the first half of the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Donald L. Tucker Center. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images | Melina Myers-Imagn Images

1. Here's What You Have to Realize About This Team...

People are wondering why Florida State is shooting so many threes, or why they take so many gambles on defense. The bottom line is that they're not a very talented team. They have one player who played major minutes at a power conference team last year. They don't have a lot of athleticism. The center rotation is lackluster. They're not going to beat teams straight up; they have to shoot threes, try to force as many turnovers as possible, and speed up other teams. That works against slower teams, it doesn't against teams that already want to play fast.

But this team can only play one way. If you want them to slow down and not take threes, it's going to lead to results worse than this. This team was picked to finish dead last in the ACC and be the worst team in power conference basketball. They're not that bad, but it's hard to prove that with performances like these. I've said all along that this was a .500ish basketball team, and the ACC is bad enough for that to still be true.

This is a three or four-year plan. It's not going to look perfect or even good early against teams that play a similar style. Thinking a team could be good in year one under a coach who has never coached in college before would've been way overreaching. The goal for this season is to be better in Game 30 than Game 7/8.

2. ...But Sometimes You Just Have to Make Shots

This team is a much better shooting team than they've shown as of late. But it's getting to the point where it's curious on if they are good shooters or not. Maybe the pace is killing their legs, which is why Coach Loucks wanted them to be in incredible shape, but that doesn't excuse going 8/30 from three, 9/18 from the free-throw line, and 10/24 on layups. They have to start shooting the ball better. Sometimes, it's as simple as that, because that would help their defense too.

3. Alier Maluk and AJ Swinton Need More Minutes

The biggest thing Florida State is missing right now is athleticism. I get that AJ Swinton and Alier Maluk are still developing, and they make a lot of bone-headed mistakes, but everyone on the team is. They need an influx of athleticism, which is why Shah Muhammad has seen more minutes, but they need more of it.

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