Florida @ Florida State preview
Donald L. Tucker Center
Last Meeting ( Nov 10, 2019 ) Florida State 63, Florida 51
The legacy of Florida State's Scottie Barnes took its first steps on Wednesday night.
The prized freshman point guard banked in a running shot with 1.8 seconds left in overtime to lift the No. 20 Seminoles to a 69-67 victory over visiting Indiana, earning FSU its 25th straight home win and 10th consecutive in overtime.
It's the kind of impactful showing coach Leonard Hamilton and his Seminoles (2-0) will need Saturday when they host in-state rival Florida (3-0).
A 5-star prospect from West Palm Beach -- the highest-rated signee in FSU hoops history -- Barnes didn't have an outstanding game on the offensive end in the back-and-forth ACC/Big Ten Challenge tilt.
He was made just 3 of 10 attempts from the field but contributed five assists, four rebounds and four steals.
"I love his effort, his enthusiasm," Hamilton said of the 6-foot-9 Barnes. "He is still learning to adjust to this level of competition. He is probably making the biggest transition of any of the players. I am pleased with his progress."
With FSU trailing 65-62 after a three-point play by Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis in the extra session's first minute, Barnes brought the home side back with a long 3-pointer with 3:03 left.
On the game-winner, he took an inbounds pass, drove in from the left and banked in a short runner high off the glass to the delight of the 2,955 fans in attendance -- and his coach.
"We felt that we didn't want to call a timeout, we wanted to go on the run and see if (Barnes) could create. That says a lot about his confidence," Hamilton said.
After having their first three games canceled due to COVID-19, the Gators have won a pair of games convincingly following a hard-fought 76-69 win over Army in a game they trailed by eight at halftime.
They found the style of offense and scoring touch they needed in their second game and rolled to a 90-70 win over Boston College in Bubbleville in Uncasville, Conn., on Dec. 3.
Florida turned to standout Keyontae Johnson -- voted the SEC's Preseason Player of the Year -- as it built a 22-point lead in the first half to race away from the Eagles.
Johnson was exceptional, racking up 24 points and 12 rebounds on 10-for-13 shooting from the field, including making 2 of 3 attempts from beyond the arc.
The point total was the most by Florida against an ACC school since 1999, and the win moved it to 3-0 all-time against the Eagles.
So far, 18.7 percent of the Gators' offense has come in transition, while last season only 11.2 percent came from it, and defensive rebounds have quickly turned into buckets on the other end.
Florida backed up that performance in their dominating, 86-40 win Sunday over nearby foe Stetson, rolling up 52 points in the second half to rout the Hatters.
Coach Mike White realized his Gators had to be in better shape to play the style of game he wanted.
"We've done more conditioning than we've done in the past couple years, for a couple different reasons, just to make sure that we're not questioning where we're at," White said earlier this season.
--Field Level Media