FSU basketball vs. Mercer: How to watch, notes, game thread

Nov 21, 2022 - 6:40 PM

Florida State basketball, 0-4 for the first time in over 50 years, is in search of its first win tonight against the Mercer Bears (2-2).

FSU has struggled heavily so far this season, leading at halftime just once so far — a 17-point lead vs. the Florida Gators which evaporated just a few minutes into the second half.

Mercer, meanwhile, has had an encouraging but frustrating beginning to the year, with its two losses both by a margin of two points.

From Mercer:

The Bears earned the second win of the regular season on Saturday, November 19 against Winthrop, prevailing 77-68. Five players scored in double figures led by senior Kamar Robertson with 23 points. Robertson scored five from three-point range, tying a career-high and becoming the second player to hit that mark this season (Shawn Walker Jr. vs. Milligan).

David Craig (15 PTS, 10 REB) and Luis Hurtado Jr. (10 PTS, 10 A) became the first pair to record double-doubles for Mercer since December 28, 2019. These were the first double-doubles of the season for the Bears and career-firsts for both players. Hurtado Jr. is the first Mercer player to record 10 assists since Djordje Dimitrijevic against Samford on February 19, 2020.

The game against Winthrop contributed to an excellent week for Hurtado Jr. The graduate transfer from Bryant achieved career-highs in points, FGM, FGA, three-point FGs, three-point FGA, FTA, assists, blocks, and minutes across the games against Georgia State and Winthrop.

Freshman Jah Quinones also had a stellar week, scoring in double figures in both games with 14 points against Georgia State and 13 points against Winthrop. He led the team in assists against Georgia State and was tied for the team-lead in steals for both games.

Some notes, via FSU Sports Info:

The Seminoles lead the all-time series by a 16-9 margin and have won nine of the last 10 games in the series which dates back to the 1947- 48 season. The Bears were the seventh ever opponent for the Seminoles, as the two played during the inaugural season of Florida State basketball.

Greg Gary is in his third season at Mercer but is quite familiar with the Florida State Seminoles. As a player and an assistant coach, Gary is 1-6 against Florida State. Gary was the starting point guard on Tulane’s Metro Conference Championship team in 1992. He played for three seasons at Tulane including four games against Florida State. As a player at Tulane, Gary averaged 9.5 points and 3.0 assists and had a 1-3 record against the Seminoles. The Seminoles were 2-0 against the Green Wave at the Donald L. Tucker Center. He then served as an assistant coach at Tulane and faced the Seminoles on March 20, 1993 in the NCAA Tournament in Orlando where the Seminoles took a 94-63 win to advance to the round of 32. As an assistant at Miami (Fla.), Gary faced the Seminoles twice with Florida State winning both games. His most recent trip to play the Seminoles at the Donald L. Tucker Center came in the 2018 ACC/Big Ten Challenge as an assistant coach on Purdue’s staff. The Seminoles took a 73-72 win over the Boilermakers on a buzzer-beating lay-up by Trent Forrest.

Assistant coach Kim Lewis, who also played at Tulane with Gary, faced the Seminoles twice as a player and has a 1-1 record against Florida State. He averaged 18.0 points and 2.5 steals as a player against Florida State.

Assistant Coach D.J. Byrd was a graduate assistant at Purdue for Matt Painter when the Seminoles defeated Purdue, 73-72, in Tallahassee.

According to DraftKings, FSU is a 7-point favorite over the Bears, with the over/under set at 143 points.

Florida State vs. Mercer is set for a 6:30 p.m. tip, with the game set to be broadcast on the ACC Network.