FSU Basketball set to open Luke Loucks era vs. Alcorn State

Florida State basketball season is here. Hallelujah!

Austin Veazey | Nov 4, 2025

Florida State Seminoles head coach Luke Loucks speaks during a pregame press conference at The Coyle E. Moore Athletic Center for the Florida State Seminoles versus Florida A&M Rattlers NCAA men's college basketball exhibition game, Tallahassee, Florida, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. / Gerald Thomas / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Florida State Men's Basketball is officially in a new era. Leonard Hamilton stepped down following last season after 23 seasons in Tallahassee, and one of his former players, Luke Loucks, is in his place. He's made it known that Florida State will be playing much faster, be firing up a lot of three-pointer, and put up a lot of points.

We've seen it in action in their two preseason exhibition games, where they put up 105 points against Alabama, and 88 against Florida A&M in a game where the Seminoles really struggled to shoot. That's an encouraging sign, but Tuesday night will be the first test that matters for the record books.

This game will be at 7 p.m. EST on ACCNX/ESPN+ in the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in Tallahassee, Florida.

Oct 8, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Florida State head coach Luke Loucks answers questions from the media at The Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: William Howard-Imagn Images / William Howard-Imagn Images

Alcorn State Braves Breakdown

Florida State was very purposeful in its scheduling this year. It's either good teams to help boost the resume, even in a loss, or they're really bad teams to help boost the metrics. This is one of the latter.

Alcorn State finished 325th in KenPom last season and they didn't win a single non-conference game, losing them by an average of 22.9 points per game. That includes an overtime loss and a loss to the NAIA Xavier University of Louisiana. They were actually decent once they got into conference play, going 11-7 in the SWAC, which was good enough for 6th in the league, one spot ahead of FAMU.

However, it's also a new era for Alcorn State. Head coach Landon Bussie left for Chicago State this offseason, and in his place is Jake Morton, who was an assistant at Florida State last season. This is his first stop as head coach, so how he'll run his team may not be how FSU played last year.

They only have three returning players: Omari Hamilton, Tycen McDaniels, Davian Williams. Those three averaged a combined 15.2 PPG last season. With this new team, Alcorn was projected to finished 10th out of 12 in the SWAC, and they didn't have any players land on a preseason All-SWAC team.

Alcorn State has four other players who have played Division 1 basketball, but none of them averaged double-figure scoring, and they were at schools like Marist, Stony Brook, and Fairleigh Dickinson. This team is pretty much a complete unknown, as they haven't played any known exhibition games this year, either.

Florida State Seminoles Breakdown

There is a lot of excitement around Florida State this season because people are ready to watch an offense that wants to run and put up points. If the two exhibition games are any indication, this could be one of the highest-scoring teams in recent memory.

This is going to be one of the fastest teams in the country if the first two exhibition games are any sign, and they have the backcourt to make that happen. Robert McCray V was probably the team's best player in those games, as he was capable of getting to the rim at will. Kobe MaGee is also a knockdown shooter who didn't shoot it as cleanly as he probably wanted to, but they have full confidence in him. Even the backup guards, Cam Miles and Martin Somerville, are exciting and fast young guards who can give the team great minutes.

LaJae Jones and Chauncey Wiggins showed a lot of versatility, with Jones showing some flashes as another elite shooter. The biggest weakness is undoubtedly the frontcourt. Alex Steen should be able to handle himself against smaller teams, but once they play Florida next week, how great will he hold up? And then there's the uber-talented Alier Maluk, who has struggled with fouls so far in his career.

This team should be a lot of fun to watch, and even if the team may not be the greatest, just being fun to watch will be a nice change.

Projected Starters

Florida State

G: Robert McCray V
G: Kobe MaGee
G: LaJae Jones
F: Chauncey Wiggins
F: Alex Steen

Alcorn State

G: Davian Williams
G: Travis Roberts
G: Mike Jones
F: Nick Woodard
F: Tycen McDaniels

Florida State’s new head basketball coach Luke Loucks introduces himself, shares his beliefs and coaching style during a press conference Monday, March 10, 2025. / Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Three Keys to the Game

Defend Without Fouling

This was a big concern for the Seminoles after the first exhibition game, as they let Alabama shoot 49 free throws and had multiple players foul out. It was cleaned up in the second game against FAMU, which is on par with the type of program they'll play tonight. They can't afford to let Alcorn State get free points.

This will also come down to rotating correctly on defense. The rotations were much better, and they should have a clear talent advantage in this matchup. They just have to show that effort.

How Many Three-Pointers Will Florida State Attempt?

I knew Florida State wanted to shoot a lot of threes, but then you watch it in action, and it's impressive how many shots from behind the arc they put up. I expect them to average over 30 attempts per game, and as long as they're making 10-to-14 per night, that's plenty good enough.

FSU will be a team that gets 90% of its shots either at the rim or beyond the arc, and they'll get to the free-throw line a lot. But making them is going to be the key.

Start the Luke Loucks Era With a Win

At the end of the day, just win the first game of the Luke Loucks era. Feed the excitement. It doesn't matter how they get there; just show a fun, exciting offense and get a win. I do expect it to be by a big margin, but just getting in the win column matters most.

Game Prediction

Florida State is favored by 18.5 points with an over/under of 148.5, per FanDuel Sportsbook.

I think FSU is going to score a lot of points in this matchup. They know exactly who and what they want to be. I like the over and for FSU to cover as they start the new era the right way.

Florida State 91, Alcorn State 62

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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