Game Preview: FSU Basketball at Clemson Tigers

Can Florida State pick up their second straight road win?

Jan 8, 2025; Coral Gables, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Daquan Davis (5) reacts against the Miami Hurricanes during the second half at Watsco Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Florida State picked up their first road win of the season on Wednesday against the Miami Hurricanes, but they'll have a much tougher challenge this weekend. They'll travel to play the Clemson Tigers, who have an argument for one of the three best teams in the ACC.

Clemson is hoping to avoid a second straight loss, as they lost on the road to Louisville on Tuesday. They've had a lot of success at home against FSU, though, going 5-0 since 2020 at Littlejohn Coliseum in this series.

This game will be live from the Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, SC, at 2 p.m. EST on Saturday, January 11th, on the ACC Network.

READ MORE: FSU Basketball Dominates Miami On the Road, 80-65

Clemson Tigers Breakdown (12-4 Overall, 4-1 ACC)

Clemson is in their 15th season under Brad Brownell, making this a battle of the two longest-tenured coaches in the ACC by a MILE. Despite how long he's been there, Brownell has never made the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons. They'll have a good chance this year after going to the Elite Eight last season.

This team is a KenPom darling, ranking in the top 50 in offensive and defensive efficiency, three-point percentage, free throw percentage, forced turnover rate, and assist rate allowed. They're playing a deathly slow pace, not Virginia slow, but slow. Only four of their games this season have gone over 70 possessions, three being losses and two going to overtime. They're playing that pace because this has no depth.

Only six players see major minutes: Chase Hunter, Ian Schieffelin, Viktor Lakhin, Jaeden Zackery, Chauncey Wiggins, and Dillon Hunter.

Chase Hunter is in his sixth season of college basketball, playing as you would expect a college guard with that much experience to play. He's leading the team with 17.2 PPG on a blistering 43.7% from three and has enough playmaking around him now to not have it fall squarely on his shoulders. He's had some big games against the Seminoles in recent seasons, averaging 18.5 PPG against FSU over his last four games, including 26 points in 2023, a career-high before scoring 27 and 30 points in two losses this year.

With P.J. Hall gone, Ian Schieffelin has emerged as the second option at 13.4 PPG and 10.8 RPG and has even been a decent passer at 2.8 APG. But he also turns it over a lot for a forward at more than two per game. Schieffelin hasn't really ever played well against the Seminoles, but his inside-out capabilities could make it difficult for FSU to guard him how they'd prefer.

Viktor Lakhin has emerged as their starting center after transferring in from Cincinnati and shoots the three at a high level. He's averaging 10.5 PPG and 6.0 RPG while leading the ACC in blocks, shooting 37% from three but just 47% from the floor, a low number for a center. The high-low game with him and Schieffelin is dangerous, and FSU will have an issue trying to score on him on the inside. The matchup against Malique Ewin should be fascinating.

Jaeden Zackery has transferred in from Boston College and has struggled to adjust shooting the ball. He was a 40.4% three-point shooter in three seasons at BC but has fallen to 29.4% this year. That doesn't mean FSU should leave him open, they still run sets to get him open a few feet behind the line. He's leading the team in assists at 3.3 per game, but has struggled against FSU's pressure in the past, having two separate games with three turnovers.

Chauncey Wiggins is a massive wing, listed at 6'10", a needed piece when playing against a team as long as Florida State. He's stepped up as a shooter, averaging 8.9 PPG on 37.9% from three-point range. He's not as good of a rebounder as you would hope for someone of that size, though.

Dillon Hunter, brother of Chase, is their only consistent reserve. He's averaging 5.7 PPG and has been very inefficient, shooting just 38.7% from the floor. Jake Heidbreder could play some minutes; he's been an elite shooter. Del Jones and Christian Reeves have played in every game, but they're pretty much just there to eat minutes and not contribute much.

Florida State Seminoles Breakdown (11-4 Overall, 2-2 ACC)

FSU finally got a road win on the board on Wednesday night against Miami, a nice confidence builder before playing against Clemson and Pitt for their next two games. If the Seminoles want any chance of making the tournament at the end of the season, going at least 1-1 over these next two games is a must.

They beat Miami using a suffocating defense, knocking down three-pointers, and they stayed away from the free-throw line, a change from their usual offensive game plan. Jamir Watkins and Malique Ewin dealt with foul trouble in the second half, but Taylor Bol Bowen and Daquan Davis stepped up and played great basketball. Ewin still had 20 points and 10 rebounds in just 23 minutes, but Davis and Bowen kept FSU afloat.

I'd expect a much better game from Jamir Watkins, even if he'll be matched up against the bigger Chauncey Wiggins for most of the game. He had just 10 points in 18 minutes against the 'Canes as he picked up his fourth foul early in the second half. It wouldn't surprise me if he had double that and we saw him get back to the free-throw line.

READ MORE: FSU Basketball Sets Program Record in Upset Victory Against Miami

Projected Starters

Clemson

G: Chase Hunter
G: Jaeden Zackery
F: Chauncey Wiggins
F: Ian Schieffelin
F: Viktor Lakhin

Florida State

G: Daquan Davis
G: Chandler Jackson
F: Jamir Watkins
F: Taylor Bol Bowen
F: Malique Ewin

Keys to the Game

Chase Hunter

Chase Hunter has had a lot of success against FSU recently, averaging 18.5 PPG over his last four games against the Seminoles. 22 of his 74 points in those games came at the free-throw line, so FSU's first priority will be to keep him off the line.

How they decide to defend him from there will be interesting. Hunter's two highest-scoring games of the season (and his career) came in losses, so there's a theory to follow there. But the third-highest-scoring game of his career was a 26-point outing against the Seminoles in 2023, a win for the Tigers. He's very easily Clemson's highest scorer this season, and trying to take him out of the game may be difficult. FSU's defense has a tall task ahead of them.

Play With Pace

Clemson is one of the slower teams in the country, while Florida State wants to play fast. Clemson has done a better job of dictating the pace in their games, but FSU's ball pressure tends to speed teams up when they don't want to. It'll be tough to do that against Clemson's veteran backcourt.

Florida State's offense also needs to get out in transition as much as possible. If they allow Clemson's defense to get set, it may be a long game. Even on made baskets, the ball needs to be taken out of the basket and inbounded as quickly as possible. FSU needs to be aiming for north of 70 possessions in this game.

Switching Against Ian Schieffelin

Ian Schieffelin is one of the hardest players to switch against in the ACC, as he'd be a center on most teams, but he plays power forward for Clemson and plays it well. He hits just enough of his threes to keep the defense honest, but he punishes teams at the rim.

Florida State has played well against him, scoring just 13 points in six games against the Seminoles. If they can keep him down around there again, that'd be huge for their chances of winning.

Game Prediction

Clemson opened as 10.5-point favorites with an over/under of 144.5, per FanDuel Sportsbook.

Florida State hasn't had much luck at Clemson recently, and I'm not sure it'll be any better in this game. This should be a competitive game since it'll be low possession, but I'm not convinced FSU can generate enough offense to come away with a win.

Clemson 71, Florida State 66

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