FSU Basketball goes winless in West Coast road trip, falls to Stanford, 78-71

Florida State's postseason hopes could be over after this 0-2 trip to California.
Jan 25, 2025; Stanford, California, USA;  Florida State Seminoles forward Malique Ewin (12) collides with Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud (right) during the first half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images
Jan 25, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Florida State Seminoles forward Malique Ewin (12) collides with Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud (right) during the first half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images / Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Florida State closed a two-game road trip to the West Coast against the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday evening, looking to make up for Wednesday's disappointing loss against the Cal Golden Bears. They'd have to do it against arguably the best player in the ACC, Maxime Raynaud.

The first half was... ugly. On a lot of fronts. Both teams struggled to score, but FSU specifically couldn't get anything going outside of Jamir Watkins, Daquan Davis, and Malique Ewin. They were doing a good job of keeping Maxime Raynaud limited, but that opened up players like Oziyah Sellers from behind the arc.

By halftime, with Stanford leading 33-25, the Cardinal were shooting 6/15 from three, Davis, Ewin, and Watkins had 22 of the team's points, and no other Seminoles had made a field goal. That just isn't sustainable for a Florida State team trying to pick up a Q1 win.

But Stanford would not cool off in the second half; somehow, they'd start even hotter from three. Florida State finally started to find some offense, but every time they'd make a little run, Benny Gealer or Oziyah Sellers would hit a big three from well beyond the arc.

Florida State got the lead down to seven midway through the second half, but a questionable flagrant foul on Jamir Watkins helped push Stanford's lead back into double-digits. And because of a technical foul on Malique Ewin earlier in the half, Coach Hamilton had his two best players on the bench as he tried to calm them down.

The Seminoles wouldn't crack the lead under ten points until there were less than two minutes to go, and they wouldn't get much closer than that despite a few chances to cut it to six. Stanford would go on to win 78-71.

Jamir Watkins led Florida State with 20 points and eight rebounds, but he also had six turnovers. Malique Ewin had 16 points but shot just 3/9 from the floor, getting 10 points from the free-throw line. Daquan Davis had 14 points. Every other Seminole shot just 7/19. As a team, FSU shot just 37.9% from the floor in this game, clearly not good enough to beat a decent team like Stanford.

Oziyah Sellers torched the Seminoles for 27 points on 10/16 shooting. FSU did what they needed to do as far as limiting Maxime Raynaud, who had just eight points on 4/11 shooting, but getting contributions from Benny Gealer and Jaylen Blakes (13 points each) helped make up for it. Stanford shot 11/24 from three compared to FSU's 6/20.

FSU entered this road trip with a chance to get on the bubble if they could've gone 2-0. Instead, they're leaving 0-2 and will need a miracle to get back on the bubble by the end of the season.

Florida State's next game will be at home against Virginia Tech on Wednesday.

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1. Did What They Needed Against Raynaud, and It Didn't Matter

Florida State did exactly what they needed to do against Maxime Raynaud, limiting him to just eight points on 4/11 shooting, but they couldn't limit Stanford's three-point shooting. FSU's ability to front the post was infuriating Raynaud, but when Stanford shoots 11/24 from three-point range, that doesn't matter much.

2. Frustrating Second Halves From Jamir Watkins and Malique Ewin

There is no doubting the talents of Jamir Watkins and Malique Ewin, but they provided some major negative plays in the second half, between technical fouls, offensive fouls, flagrant fouls, and negative attitudes, they made it difficult for Florida State to climb back into the game. Yes, they combined for 36 points, but they had a lot of negative plays in this game.

3. Daquan Davis

Daquan Davis has emerged as Florida State's third-best player, which isn't something you normally see from a freshman at FSU. He finished with 14 points in this game and was a big reason they even had a chance in the second half. They desperately need scorers to step up behind him, and they couldn't get it done in this game. Davis will be a fun player to watch for however long he's in Tallahassee.


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Austin Veazey
AUSTIN VEAZEY

Lead basketball writer; Former FSU Men's Basketball Manager from 2016-2019