Florida State suffers 83-74 upset to Stetson in season opener

Florida State will start its men’s basketball season 0-1 at the hands of Stetson following the 83-74 upset Monday night in Tallahassee. They were 18-point favorites heading into the matchup.

Stetson led by as many as 18 points, though a quick run through the stat sheet wouldn’t suggest the Seminoles faired so poorly agains the Hatters. FSU shot better from deep than Stetson at 42 percent, and shot a steady 46 percent from the field. Stetson won the turnover battle 9-8, and the ‘Noles committed five less fouls than their opposition.

So what went wrong?

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Sophomore guard Luke Brown couldn’t miss. After averaging 3.3 points per game as a freshman, the Indiana native caught fire from deep, nailing 7-of-11 of his 3-pointers and finished the night with 27 points, four rebounds and three assists – off the bench. Florida State had six 3-point makes all night.

For FSU, the scoring totals were more evened out with seven of the eight players in the Seminoles’ rotation scoring between eight and 16 points. Big man Naheem McLeod was the lone exception with two points and two rebounds on 1-of-5 shooting.

The Seminoles have a chance to right this wrong on the road against UCF Friday night at 7 p.m. ET live on ESPN+.

Florida State missing highly touted freshman Chandler Jackson for season opener vs Stetson

Florida State will be without one of their key players for the 2022 season to begin the year, as the highly touted recruit Chandler Jackson will miss Monday’s opener with a thumb injury.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports broke the unfortunate news for the Seminoles via Twitter.

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“Florida State freshman Chandler Jackson (thumb) is OUT for tonight’s opener against Stetson, per a school spokesman,” tweeted Rothstein. “Former 4-star recruit.”

Moreover, Jackson is a former four-star recruit out of Memphis, Tennessee, per the On3 Consensus. A member of the Class of 2022, Jackson was the No. 2 recruit out of his home state, and the No. 88 recruit overall in the nation.