Tulane @ Florida State preview

Florida State is one of eight unbeaten teams in Division I and will look to remain among that select company when it plays Tulane Sunday in Tampa, Fla. The Seminoles earned their seventh victory by 15 or more points Wednesday against Loyola Maryland and now must face a Green Wave squad that has already topped its win total from last season.

The Seminoles were not expected to be this good, not after losing their top three scorers from last season and having to rely on a group of complementary players from that 26-9 squad. "They like each other," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton told reporters of his team, which beat No. 5 Florida last week. "They've bought into the idea that we need each other in order to be successful. Everybody feels like they have to carry their part." So far, that formula has worked, as four players - Terance Mann, Phil Cofer, CJ Walker and Braian Angola - that combined to average 20.8 points last season have accounted for 60 percent of the scoring this season. The play of Melvin Frazier, who has improved in just about every statistical category over last season, has helped to carry the Green Wave to seven wins and a chance at their first winning season since 2012-13.

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ABOUT TULANE (7-2): Frazier was not efficient from the field despite averaging 11.5 points in 2016-17, but all that has changed this season. The junior guard is shooting 61 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind 3-point line while averaging 18.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.3 steals for the Green Wave. Cameron Reynolds, a fifth-year senior and 1,000-point scorer, is back and has joined with Frazier to form one of the nation's more potent backcourts, while sophomore Samir Sehic is giving coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr. quality play down low.

ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (8-0): After a freshman season in which he averaged 6.9 points and 4.5 rebounds, Cofer appeared on his way to becoming a mainstay for the Seminoles, but that hasn't been the case until this season. The 6-8 forward averaged fewer than 13 minutes and four points over the last two seasons, which must make what he is doing in 2017-18 that much sweeter. Cofer, who has teamed with Mann to help lead the nation's No. 15 scoring offense at 89 points per game, notched his second career double-double Dec. 4 to finish with a 4-0 mark against the rival Gators.

TIP-INS

1. The Seminoles have four non-conference games remaining before opening ACC play with No. 1 Duke, No. 10 North Carolina and No. 11 Miami.

2. After scoring in double figures in just seven of his first 76 games for the Seminoles, Cofer has done so in six of eight games this season.

3. The 8-0 start is the best for Florida State since opening 10-0 in 2003-04.

PREDICTION: Florida State 95, Tulane 84