North Florida @ Florida State preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 19, 2018 ) North Florida 81, Florida State 95

Florida State earned its first ACC victory of the season Sunday as it stormed back from a six-point halftime deficit to take down Clemson 72-53. The 19th-ranked Seminoles now welcome in-state foe North Florida to Tallahassee for a Tuesday night matchup.

The Seminoles' dominant second half against Clemson followed an inspiring halftime speech from the school's new football coach Mike Norvell. Florida State went on to hit a blistering 11-of-18 3-pointers in the second half while limiting the Tigers to just 7-of-27 (25.9 percent) connections from the floor as the Seminoles, with a smaller lineup, outscored the Tigers 45-20. "Second half, we made the adjustment to go small. We got a lot more assists because we realized we were hitting our head against a brick wall," head coach Leonard Hamilton told reporters afterward. "Holding them to 20 points in the second half says a lot about our guys’ determination, effort and commitment to going out and getting stops. We’re still searching and trying to figure out how to utilize and feel confident with our players.” UNF comes in on the heels of its first road victory of the season as it defeated Southern Miss 72-69 Saturday in the second of seven straight road games for the Ospreys.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network

ABOUT UNF (7-5): The Ospreys top the nation in 3-pointers with 12.4 per game (149 total) and they have hit double digits from deep in 10 of their 12 games, with three players - JT Escobar (38), Carter Hendricksen (34) and Ivan Gandia-Rosa (31) - making at least 30 thus far. The team nailed 15 treys in the win over Southern Miss, as all five starters reached double digits, with seniors Escobar and Garrett Sams recording 14 and Hendrickson, Gandia-Rosa and Wajid Aminu totaling 13 each. The five are averaging in double figures for the year as well, while Hendricksen leads the team in rebounds per game (8.8) and Gandia-Rosa paces the Ospreys in assists (6.2).

ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (8-2): Devin Vassell (12.4 ppg), Trent Forrest (12.1) and M.J. Walker (10.3) are the team's leading scorers and Vassell led the Seminoles with 14 points in the win over Clemson, with sophomore Anthony Polite chipping in with a career-high 12 points thanks to four 3-pointers and Walker adding 11. “We have potential to be a good perimeter shooting team. Before we went into the (Emerald Coast Classic) tournament, we had 10 3s one night and then we were 1-of-17," Hamilton said. "Mentally and emotionally, we needed confidence. It’s part of the growth process, getting guys to get confidence." The Seminoles' 3-point defense will be challenged by the sharp-shooting Ospreys, but they are holding opponents to just 29.7 percent from beyond the arc.

TIP-INS

1. Florida State has won all four meetings between these teams, including a 95-81 triumph last November.

2. Vassell is hitting 51.7 percent of his shots from the floor and 44.8 percent from long distance.

3. Forrest has 35 turnovers this season, 20 more than Polite, who is second on the team with 15 giveaways.

PREDICTION: Florida State 77, UNF 58