Chicago St. @ Florida State preview

Florida State will continue play at home Monday in the second round of the Emerald Coast Classic against Chicago State. The Seminoles have won four in a row overall and 35 straight non-conference games at home, with the last two by at least double digits against Chattanooga (89-53) in the first round of the tournament and Saint Francis (80-65) last time out.

The Seminoles have done it with revamped lineups and different players stepping up each game due to injuries to starters M.J. Walker and RaiQuan Gray. Redshirt sophomore forward Wyatt Wilkes was the latest to take advantage of increased playing time as he hit 5-of-7 shots (3-of-5 from downtown) en route to a team-best 14 points in 16 minutes against Saint Francis after totaling just five points in the first four games - all coming against Chattanooga - and 26 points in his first two seasons combined in Tallahassee. "It was a lot of fun," Wilkes told reporters afterward. "But I'm more worried about the outcome of the game. We just win by committee. And everyone is happy about that. Every single game is a chance for everybody to show what they can do." Chicago State, of the Western Athletic Conference, has won two in a row on back-to-back evenings at home after defeating North Park 79-66 Wednesday but the Cougars are 0-2 on the road.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ACC Network Extra

ABOUT CHICAGO STATE (3-3): Junior guard Xavier Johnson tops the team in points (17.7) and assists (4.5) per game and he is the only Cougar with more than nine 3-pointers as he leads the team with 17 on 45.9 percent shooting. Junior forward Jace Colley is the school's top rebounder (6.5 per game) after averaging a double-double during the two-game homestand with 16.5 points and 11.5 rebounds. The Cougars dominated the boards in the recent win over North Park (46-28) after losing the rebounding battle in the four prior games.

ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (4-1): Like Wilkes, freshman center Balsa Koprivica has also made plays when called upon, coming off the bench to score 11 points against Saint Francis and 10 against Chattanooga. Senior guard Trent Forrest (12.2 points) leapfrogged sophomore guard Devin Vassell (11.6) for the team scoring lead after netting 13 points against Saint Francis compared with just four points for Vassell, who had scored in double digits in each of the first four games this season. "We are still learning about this team so we go into games experimenting a little bit and that’s pretty much where we are," head coach Leonard Hamilton told reporters. "You might see a few more different lineups. In our system, starting lineups, are not as much of a factor for some guys. We truly believe we win games by committing. We believe that we’ve got to get more guys involved. That’s part of our system. We are still trying to find that right rhythm.”

TIP-INS

1. These teams have met just once before, with the Seminoles taking the first meeting 47-42 in the third round of the Pittsburgh Holiday Hoops Classic in December 2003.

2. After shooting a season-high 88.2 percent of their foul shots against Saint Francis, the Seminoles enter the game leading the ACC in free-throw shooting (80 percent).

3. Florida State had 10 steals against Chattanooga and 11 against Saint Francis.

PREDICTION: Florida State 87, Chicago State 58