Florida State is off to its worst start since the 2000-01 season after dropping three straight contests as the Seminoles return home on Tuesday to face The Citadel, who come in with a record of 2-2.
The Seminoles, at 1-3, could be without their starting backcourt on Tuesday as Devon Bookert has been nursing an injury. Aaron Thomas was taken to the hospital for an unspecified injury during Sunday’s 75-69 loss to Massachusetts.
With Thomas and Bookert both potentially out, the Seminoles will have to rely heavily on freshman guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes and junior forward Montay Brandon. Rathan-Mayes scored a career-high 22 points in Sunday’s loss to the Minutemen while Brandon has been perhaps the most efficient Seminole early on.
Brandon is shooting 67 percent from the floor and is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.8 points-per-game. Brandon is also Florida State’s leading rebounder.
With three 7-footers in the rotation, the big men for Florida State have been a bit of a disappointment, but junior Boris Bojanovsky did come to life on Sunday with a career-high 18 points. 6’8″ freshman forward Phil Cofer has been a pleasant surprise inside, averaging 8.3 points and 6.5 rebounds-per-game.
After opening the year with losses to fellow military schools, The Citadel has won consecutive games. The Bulldogs have been led by junior center P.J. Horgan, who is averaging 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Horgan is shooting 63 percent from the field.
Junior guard Ashton Moore leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.5 points, but has shot just 37 percent from the floor this season. Freshman forward Brian White and junior guard Marshall Harris III are each averaging 9.5 points for The Citadel and each have a field goal percentage greater than 50 percent.
Florida State’s contest with The Citadel on Tuesday will begin a stretch of four straight home games. Tuesday’s match-up will tip off just after 7:00 P.M. eastern time, but will not be televised.
