Florida State men's basketball suffers stunning loss to Stetson in season opener

The Florida State men’s basketball team entered this season fairly short handed.

No excuse, though, should absolve how poorly the Seminoles (0-1) played in their 83-74 loss to Stetson (1-0) at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Monday.

The Hatters are expected to continue to be one of the worst teams in the ASUN Conference.

They were projected to finish second-to-last in the ASUN, per the conference’s preseason media poll. They have not finished above .500 in a season since going 17-12 in 2000-01. And they had not defeated FSU since 1975.

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But as an 18-point favorite, the Seminoles looked overmatched for much of the game.

After trailing 34-16 in the first half, FSU cut the deficit to as little as 68-65 with under five minutes remaining. The Seminoles ultimately could not overcome their struggles to defend the perimeter, rebound and shoot from the free throw line.

They also only had eight available scholarship players. Forwards Jaylan Gainey (season-ending knee injury), Baba Miller (16-game suspension) and De’Ante Green (knee injury), and guards Chandler Jackson (broken thumb) and Jeremiah Bembry (undisclosed injury) were out for various reasons.

“I always say that the true test of your character is how you handle adversity,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “I’m hoping the fact that we are down four of our guys in the rotation, I hope they are not mentally having a pity party that we don’t know anything about.

“We’ve got to overcome that. And if we do, we get people back with the exception of Gainey, and I think we can overcome whatever lack of inexperience that we have.”

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FSU showed its inexperience

FSU returned only five scholarship players from last season.

All five of those players – transfer guards Caleb Mills (University of Houston) and Cam’Ron Fletcher (University of Kentucky), sophomore guards Matthew Cleveland and Jalen Warley, and center Naheem McLeod – are entering just their second season in this system.

The Seminoles certainly looked inexperienced. They seemingly lacked effort and poise throughout the game, which showed up in several key areas like free throw shooting. Hamilton said FSU is equipped to shoot well from the penalty stripe, but the team finished 14 of 27 (51.9%).

“That just shows what happens when you have a lot of guys out there on the court where it is the first time they have been in a situation like this,” Hamilton said. “That is a part of growing mentally and emotionally, as well as physically.”

The 7-foot-4 McLeod and 6-10 freshman Cameron Corhen were the Seminoles’ only available players who are taller than 6-7. So they featured a starting lineup that included four guards – sophomores Caleb Mills and Matthew Cleveland, UCF transfer Darin Green Jr. and freshman Tom House – and McLeod.

Stetson took advantage of FSU's guard-heavy lineups, securing 14 offensive rebounds that turned into 20 second-chance points.

“We are not accustomed to people jumping over the top of us from an athletic standpoint,” Hamilton said. “There were times where we blocked out, but we didn’t go get the ball. And we are better than that.”

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Stetson guard Luke Brown catches fire

Stetson guard Luke Brown shot poorly as a freshman at Ball State last season, finishing 20 of 68 (29.4%) from the floor and 14 of 46 (30.4%) from beyond the arc.

Against FSU, though, Brown hardly missed.

Brown led all scorers with 27 points on 7-of-11 (63.6%) shooting from three-point range. The Hatters went 11 of 23 (47.8%) from deep in the first half and 14 of 35 (40%) overall. Brown connected on five of his three-pointers in the first half.

“Every once in a while, you go against a guy whose (shots) are going in from the parking lot,” Hamilton said. “That was part of the problem. The kid just had one of those exceptional shooting nights. It didn’t really matter how far away he was from the basket.

“We didn’t do a very good job defending him.”

The Seminoles could not make up for Brown’s hot shooting. They had their moments offensively and went 6 of 14 (42.9%) from deep. But they sputtered at times, finishing 27 of 59 (45.8%) from the floor and producing only three players in double figures.

Cleveland led the group with 16 points, while Mills recorded 12 and Corhen had 10.

“The ball didn’t move,” Hamilton said. “Some of that was, they were very confident that they could do certain things. And I think that is part of the process too, learning how to play with your teammates and learning their strengths and weaknesses.

“You would like to think that you would have learned that by now, but that is the process we are in.”

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Matthew Cleveland bounces back

Cleveland shooting the ball well is the most significant silver lining from FSU’s loss.

The reigning ACC Sixth Man of the Year changed his shot form after going only 17.6% (6 of 34) from three-point range and 55.5% (61 of 110) from the free throw line last season.

In the Seminoles’ exhibition against Newberry College, Cleveland did not score on 0-of-9 shooting. But he bounced back against Stetson, shooting 6 of 11 (54.5%).

“I really gained a lot of confidence in the offseason. The exhibition game didn’t affect me,” Cleveland said. “I knew if I played my game that eventually, who I am would show.”

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Chandler Jackson returning soon

FSU might have Chandler Jackson back soon.

Hamilton said the freshman guard is the closest to return out of the five players who were unavailable against Stetson.

“I think Jackson is very close to getting released,” Hamilton said. “We thought it was going to be six weeks, but I think the doctors are cautious. They want to make sure that when the kid comes back, he’s going to be able to finish the season.”

Up next

FSU will next play at UCF in Orlando at 7 p.m. Friday before returning home to play Troy at 7 p.m. Monday.

Reach Carter Karels at ckarels@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @CarterKarels. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU men's basketball: Stetson Hatters upset Seminoles in season opener