Preview: FSU Prepares for Matinee vs. Buccaneers

Florida State will play its final home game of the non-conference on Monday afternoon as the Seminoles take on Charleston Southern.

FSU has won four straight after edging Florida Atlantic on Saturday and will come in with a record of 8-2. The Buccaneers are off to a 4-7 start and fell to Wright State its last time out.

Key Players for Charleston Southern

  • Armel Potter (Fr.-G): 13.9 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 3.6 APG
  • Patrick Wallace (Jr.-G): 13.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 41% 3PT
  • Raemond Robinson (Jr.-G): 9.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 46% 3PT

Key Players for Florida State

  • Xavier Rathan-Mayes (So.-G): 12.0 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 6.2 APG
  • Dwayne Bacon (Fr.-G/F): 16.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 52% FG
  • Malik Beasley (Fr.-G): 17.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 52% FG

Freshman Armel Potter has led Charleston Southern for much of this season. Potter averages a team-high 13.9 points and 3.6 assists, but was held to just seven points on 1-for-12 shooting against Wright State on Thursday. Junior guard Patrick Wallace is averaging 13 points-per-game and has scored in double-figures in five straight games entering Monday.

Florida State’s talented freshman duo of Dwayne Bacon and Malik Beasley have combined to score at least 20 points in 10 games this season for FSU. Beasley leads the team with 17.4 points and 5.6 rebounds-per-game. Bacon is coming off a 23-point effort against FAU on Saturday and is averaging just shy of 17 points and 5 rebounds per contest. Each are shooting 52 percent from the field.

The only other FSU player averaging in double-figures scoring this season is last season’s leading scorer Xavier Rathan-Mayes. Rathan-Mayes is averaging 12 points-per-game and his 6.2 assists per contest average leads the ACC and ranks 22nd nationally. Rathan-Mayes led the Seminoles with 16 points in last season’s 58-47 victory over Charleston Southern.

FSU is 8-0 all-time against the Buccaneers. Monday’s game will begin after 2 p.m. eastern time and will air on ESPN3.

About Mike Ferguson

Mike Ferguson is a Bloguin contributor, the editor of Noled Out and a lifetime Florida State sports enthusiast. Mike vividly remembers watching Warrick Dunn run down the sideline in Gainesville in 1993, the "Choke at Doak" in 1994 and Monte Cummings' driving layup to beat #1 Duke in 2002. Mike has worked as a sports reporter in both print and online. For isportsweb in 2013, Mike gave press coverage of Florida State football's run to the 2013 national championship. Mike has been featured on SI.com, FoxSports.com and Yahoo Sports while interviewing major sports stars such as 2013 National League MVP Andrew McCutchen. Mike graduated from Florida State University in 2009 with a major in Religion and a minor in Communications. Mike currently resides in Haines City, Florida with his wife Jennifer and daughters Trinity and Greenly. Mike is a full-time reporter at Polk County's newspaper, The Ledger, in Lakeland, Florida. Mike can be followed on Twitter @MikeWFerguson.

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