St. Francis (PA) @ Florida State preview

Florida State put it all together Wednesday night, opening the Emerald Coast Classic with an 89-53 rout of Chattanooga for the team's most lopsided victory since February 2017. The Seminoles have won three in a row after an opening loss and they continue their homestand Saturday when Saint Francis (Pa.) comes to town for its first ever meeting with Florida State.

The dominant effort Wednesday was especially important after the Seminoles barely got by Western Carolina in their previous outing, needing to come back from a 17-point deficit and scoring the go-ahead points with just 45 seconds remaining. "I thought our guys really responded well," head coach Leonard Hamilton told reporters. "We challenged them to focus on a much better job of executing. The other night, when we played against Western Carolina, I thought we were extremely aggressive and anxious. We had very poor ball movement and ball reversal. (Tonight) we challenged (our players) to move the ball." The Seminoles played without third-leading scorer M.J. Walker (11.3), who had helped spark the win over Western Carolina, and sophomore guard RaiQuan Gray, second on the team in assists, and both injured players may sit out Saturday as well. Saint Francis comes in off a 79-64 loss at home to Delaware, leaving eighth-year head coach Rob Krimmel still one win shy of 100 career wins at the school.

TV: 2 p.m. ET, ACC Network

ABOUT SAINT FRANCIS (2-3): Senior Keith Braxton tops the team with 16.6 points per game and has scored in double figures in every game this season, tying Tyler Stewart and Mark Flagg for the team high with 13 points against Delaware. Braxton is the top rebounder (seven per game) while Scott Meredith leads the team with 10 3-pointers on 19 attempts (52.6 percent). Led by Isaiah Blackmon (10), Saint Francis has recorded 10 or more offensive rebounds and won the battle of second-chance points in all five games.

ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (3-1): Sophomore guard Devin Vassell is the only Seminole to score in double figures in each game and comes off a career performance with 17 points and eight rebounds against Chattanooga. Vassell has a team-high 13.5 points per game, with senior guard Trent Forrest second with 12.0 points while leading the team with 18 assists. The Seminoles are holding teams to 36.4 percent shooting from the floor, with three of their first four opponents failing to reach 40 percent.

TIP-INS

1. The Seminoles have won 34 straight nonconference home games.

2. Led by Forrest (seven), Florida State amassed a season-best 20 assists in the win over Chattanooga.

3. This is the third of four straight home games for the Seminoles.

PREDICTION: Florida State 84, Saint Francis 65