Seminoles racing into ACC play

A change in offensive philosophy by Leonard Hamilton has Florida State off to one of its best starts in school history.

The 20th-ranked Seminoles begin Atlantic Coast Conference play on Wednesday against Wake Forest 12-1 for only the third time. They have also won eight straight for the first time in 10 seasons.

A big reason for this is going to an up-tempo system as Florida State is playing to its strength with a bevy of perimeter players. Hamilton’s teams before this season have run mostly a motion offense, which puts a premium on strong inside play.

FSU is ranked second in the ACC and 13th nationally by averaging 88.1 points per game. The 10.1 points per game improvement is second-best in the conference, behind Notre Dame’s 10.2.

The Seminoles lead the league in field goal accuracy and are eighth nationally at 51.3 percent. They haven’t had a game yet this season where they have shot worse than 40 percent.

“I think we’re in a good place. We’re doing a good job running up and down the floor,” said junior point guard Xavier RathanMayes, who is averaging 10 points per game and is fifth in the ACC in assists (4.77 per game). “We can adapt to anyone, but people have to adapt to us as well. We can go small or big.”

Hamilton has liked the progress his team has made but says there is room for growth. The longtime coach, in his 15th season at Florida State, also continues to play around with different combinations as 11 players are averaging 10 minutes or more a game.

A constant, though, is Dwayne Bacon, who is eighth in the conference in scoring at 16.9 points per game. Freshman Jonathan Isaac is averaging 12.9 points but only 8.7 over the past three games after he missed three games due to a hip flexor injury.

The Seminoles haven’t been tested much during their first 13 games as eight of the wins have been by 20 points or more.

“I expect teams to be a lot more prepared for our transition game. We have to be a better half-court team in conference play because games will be a lot closer and competitive,” Hamilton said.