Florida State basketball season preview 2024-25: Biggest games, key players to watch, predictions and more

Florida State looks to pick up from its good showing in the 2023-24 college basketball season, as it aims to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021.

Leonard Hamilton marches into his 23rd season as coach of the Seminoles, with forward Jamir Watkins returning for another year to lead the freshman-heavy squad to a surprising run in the ACC and a possible 2025 tournament bid.

Let's dive further into Florida State's upcoming campaign by looking at its much-anticipated games, key players to look forward to and projected record for the 2024-25 season.

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Florida State's biggest games in the 2024-25 season

Florida State has released its initial non-conference schedule, with Temple, UMass and LSU lining up as the Seminoles' opponents this coming season.

The Seminoles will play the Owls on Nov. 22 and the Minutemen on Nov. 24 in the 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Nine days later, the Leonard Hamilton-coached squad will visit LSU as part of the second ACC/SEC Challenge. The game will be played at Pete Maravich Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the seventh time the Seminoles will face the Tigers, with the most recent coming in November 2018. FSU won over LSU, 79-76.

The ACC has released its conference schedule for FSU in the 2024-25 season. The Seminoles are set to meet Clemson, Louisville and Miami twice, while they're set to host Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, SMU, Syracuse and Virginia Tech.

Florida State's	2024-25 ACC Regular Season Matchups
Home and Away	Clemson, Louisville, Miami
Home only	Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, SMU, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
Away only	Boston College, California, Duke, NC State, Stanford, Virginia, Wake Forest

Florida State will visit Boston College, California, Duke, NC State, Stanford, Virginia and Wake Forest.

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Key Florida State players to watch out for in the 2024-25 season

Florida State basketball season preview 2024-25 (Image Source: IMAGN)

The freshman-heavy Florida State would mainly rely on last year's top scorer, Jamir Watkins, who averaged 15.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game this past season.

The 6-foot-7 Watkins would get veteran help from South Dakota transfer Bostyn Holt, who tallied 12.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 3.1 apg on 45.0% shooting from the field.

Another player that Hamilton expects to produce is Hampton transfer Jerry Deng. The 6-foot-9 Norcross, Georgia, native scored 10.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest in 33 games with the Pirates. He'll provide the frontcourt stability for the Seminoles in the coming season.

Florida State would also rely on four-star point guard prospect Daquan Davis. The 6-foot-1 Davis ranks as the eighth-best point guard in the nation, as per 247Sports.

The Seminoles also found frontcourt help in seven-footer Alier Maluk. The Long Island Lutheran standout is a three-star center and is the sixth-ranked slotman in the state of New York.

Aside from Maluk, Florida State can also rely on 6-foot-6 forward AJ Swinton. The Bishop O'Connell standout is also a three-star prospect who is ranked eighth in the state of Virginia.

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Florida State's predictions for the 2024-25 season

Florida State would rely heavily on Jamir Watkins this coming season. The senior is expected to demand the ball more often, and his last season's average would likely go up due to the team's lack of scoring options.

He'll get help from Bostyn Holt and freshman guard Daquan Davis, but it wouldn't be enough to hand the Seminoles a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Florida State would finish the regular season 18-13 and is one of the teams that would get snubbed by the NCAA Tournament Committee in March.

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Will Florida State make the 2025 NCAA Tournament? Let us know your views in the comments section.