“We’re in a tough spot,” Loucks said in his postgame press conference Saturday. “We’ve lost four in a row, and we’re playing with inconsistent effort and fight. As long as our coaching staff has to continue to coach effort and just showing up and doing your job, we’re going to be in a tough spot. We’re going to have nights like tonight. As soon as we figure out how to show up to work with a lunch pail and a gritty attitude, our team will take the next step, and we’re going to have better results than we did tonight.”
Florida State (5-5) plays Dayton (8-3) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at UD Arena. The game comes three days after Dayton beat another Sunshine State program, North Florida, 84-61 at UD Arena.
Here are five things to know about the matchup:
1: Series history: This is the first meeting between the programs in 44 years. Dayton and Florida State split six matchups between 1969 and 1981.
• Florida State won the first matchup, 79-71 against No. 17 Dayton, on Feb. 15, 1969, at Tully Gym in Tallahassee, Fla.
• On Feb. 7, 1970, in the 10th game played at UD Arena, which opened that season, Dayton lost 82-76 to No. 12 Florida State.
• Dayton first beat Florida State on March 6, 1976, at UD Arena, winning 95-81.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
• Dayton lost 76-71 to Florida State at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Feb. 18, 1977.
• The last two matchups took place at UD Arena in the University of Dayton Invitational Tournament. Dayton won 97-80 on Dec. 22, 1978, and 93-79 on Dec. 30, 1981.
2: State of the program: Florida State finished 17-15 overall and 8-12 in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season. It has won 17 games three times in the last four seasons. It last played in the NCAA tournament in 2021 when it made its fourth appearance in five seasons.
Leonard Hamilton coached Florida State for the last 23 seasons. He retired after the 2024-25 season. The new coach, Loucks, most recently served as an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings.
Florida State was picked to finish 15th out of 18 teams in the ACC preseason poll this season.
3: Scouting report: Robert McCray V, a 6-foot-4, fifth-year guard, leads Florida State in scoring (18.4 points per game). He started his career at Wake Forest and played the last two seasons at Jacksonville. He was a teammate of former Flyer Zimi Nwokeji last season.
• Lajae Jones, a 6-7 fourth-year guard, ranks second in scoring (12.5). He played at Tarleton State, Barton Community College and St. Bonaventure the last three seasons. He scored 23 points in a 75-53 victory against Dayton last season at St. Bonaventure.
• Chauncey Wiggins, a 6-10 senior forward, ranks third in scoring (12.4). He played the last three seasons at Clemson.
• Florida State’s other double-digit scorer is Kobe MaGee, a 6-6 senior guard who played the last three seasons at Drexel.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
4: Season summary: Florida State beat Tennessee-Martin 86-73 on Nov. 18 for its best victory. Tennessee-Martin ranks 179th in the NCAA Evaluation Tool.
Florida State started 5-1 with a 78-76 loss to Florida in its third game on Nov. 11.
Florida State then lost three straight games to teams ranked in the top 100 of the NET: 95-59 to No. 89 Texas A&M; 107-73 to No. 18 Georgia; and 82-67 to No. 15 Houston.
In the loss to UMass at Amerant Bank Arena in the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Fla., Florida State led by as many as 13 points in the first half but trailed by as many as 18 in the second half.
5: Odds & Ends: KenPom.com gives Dayton a 76% chance of beating Florida State and predicts an 83-75 score. Dayton ranks 68th in the Pomeroy ratings. Florida State is No. 107.
• Dayton is No. 79 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool. Florida State is No. 134. This is a Quadrant 3 game for Dayton and a Quad 2 game for Florida State.
• Dayton has won 31 straight non-conference home games.
• Dayton has lost four straight games to ACC schools. That includes an 86-73 loss to Virginia in Charlotte on Dec. 6. In Grant’s nine seasons, Dayton is 3-5 against the ACC.
• With 23 points Saturday, Dayton guard De’Shayne Montgomery took over the team leading in scoring (16.1 points per game, passing Javon Bennett (15.6).
NEXT GAME
Who: Florida State at Dayton
When: 7 p.m., Tuesday
Streaming: CBS Sport Network
Radio: 95.7-FM, 1290-AM
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