Seminoles bring win streak to Atlanta
Florida State reserve forward Malik Osborne did not have a double-double in almost three years.
He was not even in a Seminoles uniform the last time he had one.
“We’re talking back to (my) Rice days,” said Osborne, whose last double-double came March 1, 2018 against UTEP.
Osborne’s 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench during Florida State’s 81-59 victory over Miami on Wednesday was the latest example of the kind of roll Florida State has been on during its recent five-game winning streak.
The No. 16 Seminoles will have to carry that momentum on the road Saturday when they travel to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech in the first of four consecutive games away from Tallahassee.
Florida State (10-2, 6-1), which sits one game behind Virginia for first place in the ACC, defeated Georgia Tech at home 74-61 on Dec. 15 led by Scottie Barnes’ 16 points and six rebounds.
But the road has been unfamiliar territory for Florida State, which has played only two games away from home so far this season — the most recent a 78-65 win at Louisville
on Jan. 18.
The Yellow Jackets (7-5, 3-3) already have upset a ranked ACC team at home beating then-No. 20 Clemson on Jan. 20. Georgia Tech has also played tough in recent narrow defeats at Duke and Virginia.
“I think we should have won both games,” Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner said. “It’s not a couple of years ago and it’s like ‘David versus Goliath.’ ... Now we belong in the league, and we’re good enough to win against anyone we play. The next step for us as a program for these young men is we get over the hump.”
Georgia Tech’s Jose Alvarado is third in the ACC at 18.1 points per game and dropped 26 points on 10of-15 shooting during the Yellow Jackets’ 75-68 loss at Duke on Tuesday.
Alvarado is shooting 54.3% from the field and 61.5% in conference games, including 48% from 3-point range in ACC contests and 44.1% overall.
“He’s playing as well as anyone right now, and he’s got to keep it up,” Pastner said recently. “We’re a better team when he does that, but I’m really proud of Jose’s development from where he started to where he is now.”