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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State, which has won four of its last six games, travels to play Wake Forest on Wednesday January 11, 2023 in the only meeting of the season between the Seminoles and the Deacons. The game is set for a 9:00 p.m. tip on the ACC Network. Florida State has won nine of its last 11 games against the Deacons, including a stretch of nine consecutive victories from February 26, 2013 through February 13, 2021 – a streak that included four wins at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The Seminoles defeated Georgia Tech on January 7 in Tallahassee to open 2023 with an ACC victory, and begin play on Wednesday with a 3-2 mark in ACC play. Following Wednesday’s game against Wake Forest, the Seminoles return to Tallahassee for their second game of the season against Virginia on Saturday, January 14 at 4:00 p.m. at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
HAMILTON REACHES 600 CAREER VICTORY PLATEAU; ON HALL FO FAME BALLOT FOR 2023
Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton won his 600th career game as he directed his Seminoles to their 75-64 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday. In addition to the victory being his 600th overall coaching win, the win was his 400th at Florida State making him only the fifth coach in ACC history to win 400 games as an ACC coach. Hamilton is one of just 17 active collegiate coaches with at least 600 career victories. As Hamilton continues to cement his legacy as one of the nation’s top coaches, mentors and teachers in life and basketball, he is on the ballot for enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
CLEVELAND PLAYS FOR SIXTH CONSECUTIVE DOUBLE DOUBLE AGAINST WAKE FOREST
Sophomore Matthew Cleveland, who has earned a personal-best five consecutive double doubles, enters Wednesday’s game at Wake Forest looking to earn his sixth consecutive double double. He is the first Seminole to earn five consecutive double doubles since Douglas Edwards during the 1991-92 season. Cleveland is looking to become the first Seminole since Greg Grady during the 1974-75 season (against Eastern Kentucky, Wisconsin Milwaukee, Biscayne, South Florida, Hofstra and Biscayne) to earn six consecutive double doubles as Florida State plays Wake Forest on Wednesday night. Cleveland also enters Wednesday’s game looking to become the first Seminole with double doubles in four consecutive ACC games.
MILLS APPROACHES COVETED 1,000 POINT MARK
Junior Caleb Mills enters Wednesday’s game against Wake Forest with 984 career points and needs only 16 points to score his 1,000th career point. He scored 448 points in his first two seasons and 35 games at the University of Houston (2019-20, 2020-21) and has scored 536 points in his two seasons and 42 games as a Seminole. Mills averages 12.8 points scored in his 77-game career with his career-high of 27 points coming against Tulsa (February 19, 2020 while at Houston) and against Louisville (January 8, 2022 while at Florida State).
CLEVELAND NAMED TO JULIUS ERVING AWARD WATCH LIST
Florida State’s Matthew Cleveland is on the Julius Erving Watch List as the nation’s top collegiate small forward as named by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. It marks the second consecutive season Cleveland has been named to the initial watch list for the prestigious Julius Erving Award. Cleveland is one of three players from the ACC named to the Julius Erving Watch List. He is joined on the list by Dariq Whitehead of Duke and Leaky Black of North Carolina. The award is named for Julius Erving, who attended the University of Massachusetts (1969-71). He averaged 26.3 points and 20.2 rebounds per game, making him one of only six NCAA men’s basketball players to average more than 20 points and 20 rebounds per game during his career.
LOOK FOR FLORIDA STATE TO…
…Defeat Wake Forest and win its first ACC road game of the season. The Seminoles have earned 18 ACC road wins since the start of the 2018-19 season;
…Defeat Wake Forest and win for the fifth time in its last six games at the Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum. The Seminoles earned wins in 2014, 2016, 2019 and 2020 on the Deacons’ home court.
SEMINOLES TOTAL 23 ASSISTS ON 30 BASKETS IN VICTORY OVER GEORGIA TECH
Led by junior Caleb Mills’ near career-high of seven assists, Florida State totaled a season-high 23 assists (on 30 baskets) in its victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday in Tallahassee. The school record by an individual player in an ACC game is 13 by Delvon Arrington against Georgia Tech on January 9, 1999, while the team record for assists in an ACC game is 26 in three different games (against NC State, January 15, 1995; against Clemson on February 5, 2017 and against Boston College on February 20, 2017. The all-time Florida State record for assists in a single game is 36 against Baptist College on January 14, 1976. Baptist College is now known as Charleston Southern.
FLORIDA STATE SCORCHES THE NETS FOR 10 3-POINT FIELD GOALS IN WIN OVER GEORGIA TECH
Led by four 3-point field goals made by Darin Green Jr, the Seminoles made 10 3-point shots in their victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday. It marked the second time this season the Seminoles made 10 or more 3-point shots this season. Florida State’s season-high for 3-point field goals made in a game is 11 against St. John’s in the Orange Bowl Classic on December 17 in Sunrise, Fla.
SEMINOLES REACH 100 STEALS MARK FOR THE SEASON
Led by two steals each by Darin Green Jr. and Matthew Cleveland, the Seminoles earned five steals against Georgia Tech, and reached the 100 steals plateau for the 45th consecutive season. The Seminoles have earned at least 150 steals in each season since the 1977-78 season when they totaled 276 steals as a team. Florida State has earned at least five steals in 13 of its first 16 game during the 2022-23 season.
THE MINUTES PLAYED CHART UNDER HAMILTON
Seminole Head Coach Leonard Hamilton is not at all accustomed to his players playing as many minutes as they have been asked to this season. With two Seminoles (Darin Green, Jr. and Matthew Cleveland) averaging more than 33.0 minutes played per game, it marks just the third time in Hamilton’s 21 seasons at Florida State, that multiple Seminoles are averaging 30 minutes or more played per game for a full season. Hamilton asked Seminole great Trent Forrest what he felt the optimum number of minutes a player could play each game, and play well in the Florida State system, at the end of his All-ACC career – Forrest replied in the 23-24 minute range.
