Florida State desperate for win against Mississippi Valley State
FLM
Dec 18, 2025
Luke Loucks' first season leading the Florida State Seminoles basketball team has gone off the rails in a major way.
The Seminoles (5-6) have lost their last five games, tied for the program's longest losing streak since a six-game skid in early 2022.
Desperate for a win, Florida State could find one in a matchup on Friday night in Tallahassee, Fla., against Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils -- the lowest-ranked of Division I's 365 teams in the NET rankings.
This could be a nice salve for the Seminoles. To put their struggles into a little more context, they are 5-0 against teams ranked lower than 200 in the KenPom.com ratings - but 0-6 against teams in the top 200.
Last time out, the Seminoles committed 30 fouls and had five players foul out in a 97-69 loss Tuesday at Dayton. Defense largely has been the team's bugaboo, with four of Florida State's last five opponents scoring 95-plus points.
The Seminoles are allowing 82.4 points per game, which ranks in the bottom 30 of Division I and better than only Providence (84.7 ppg) among major-conference teams.
"We have to find some grit and determination, bare minimum," Loucks said after the Seminoles' 103-95 neutral-court loss to UMass on Dec. 13. "We just don't have the talent to be the less-hardworking team. We have to outwork people. We have to do things together on the defensive end."
Robert McCray V leads Florida State in points (14.4) and assists (6.8) per game and has paced the team in scoring three of the last four games.
The Delta Devils (1-10) are on a nine-game losing streak and have not beaten a Division I nonconference foe since Nov. 18, 2022, against North Alabama.
Their last five losses have been by double digits and their first two matchups against major-conference opponents didn't go well, losing 120-84 on Nov. 25 at Texas A&M and 108-49 on Dec. 8 at Kansas State.
Michael James (20.6 ppg) and Daniel Mayfield (13.4 ppg, 6.7 rebounds per game) are the only two Mississippi Valley State players averaging double-figure scoring. They have combined to lead the Delta Devils in scoring in all 11 games this season.
James scored 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting last time out in an 88-64 home loss to Tarleton State on Tuesday. Mayfield did not play in the game.
The Delta Devils rank 358th in Division I in scoring defense through Tuesday's games, allowing 90.2 points per game.
--Field Level Media
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1st Half
MVSU
Delta Devils
17
FSU
Seminoles
54
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
X'Zaevion Barnett vs. Thomas Bassong (Thomas Bassong gains possession)
19:47
Martin Somerville misses three point jump shot
19:45
Delta Devils defensive rebound
19:29
Michael James turnover (Lajae Jones steals)
19:07
+3
Robert McCray V makes three point jump shot (Kobe MaGee assists)
0-3
18:40
+3
Patrick Punch makes three point jump shot (Lamont Sams assists)
3-3
18:28
Lajae Jones misses three point jump shot
18:26
Lajae Jones offensive rebound
18:12
+3
Kobe MaGee makes three point jump shot (Robert McCray V assists)
3-6
17:50
Alex Steen personal foul
17:50
+1
Lamont Sams makes regular free throw 1 of 2
4-6
17:50
Lamont Sams misses regular free throw 2 of 2
17:50
Alex Steen defensive rebound
17:38
Alex Steen turnover (Lamont Sams steals)
17:28
Patrick Punch turnover (Kobe MaGee steals)
17:17
Patrick Punch shooting foul (Martin Somerville draws the foul)
17:17
+1
Martin Somerville makes regular free throw 1 of 3
4-7
17:17
+1
Martin Somerville makes regular free throw 2 of 3
4-8
17:17
+1
Martin Somerville makes regular free throw 3 of 3
4-9
17:09
Patrick Punch turnover
17:04
Robert McCray V turnover (Mussa Mzein steals)
16:47
Patrick Punch turnover (Robert McCray V steals)
16:34
Kobe MaGee misses three point jump shot
16:32
Martin Somerville offensive rebound
16:21
Robert McCray V misses three point jump shot
16:19
Alex Steen offensive rebound
16:18
Martin Somerville misses three point jump shot
16:16
Seminoles offensive rebound
16:16
Mussa Mzein personal foul
16:15
Robert McCray V turnover (Michael James steals)
16:15
Kobe MaGee shooting foul (Michael James draws the foul)
16:15
+1
Michael James makes regular free throw 1 of 2
5-9
16:15
Michael James misses regular free throw 2 of 2
16:15
Alier Maluk defensive rebound
16:09
Kobe MaGee misses three point jump shot
16:07
Martin Somerville offensive rebound
15:59
+3
Cam Miles makes three point jump shot (Martin Somerville assists)
5-12
15:17
TV timeout
15:13
+2
Michael James makes two point jump shot (Mussa Mzein assists)
7-12
14:57
Mussa Mzein personal foul
14:57
+1
Cam Miles makes regular free throw 1 of 2
7-13
14:57
+1
Cam Miles makes regular free throw 2 of 2
7-14
14:35
Michael James misses three point jump shot
14:33
AJ Swinton defensive rebound
14:24
Michael James personal foul
14:24
+1
Cam Miles makes regular free throw 1 of 2
7-15
14:24
Cam Miles misses regular free throw 2 of 2
14:24
Alier Maluk offensive rebound
14:24
+2
Alier Maluk makes two point tip layup
7-17
14:18
X'Zaevion Barnett turnover (Cam Miles steals)
14:08
X'Zaevion Barnett personal foul
14:00
Michael James personal foul
13:54
AJ Swinton misses three point jump shot
13:52
Alier Maluk offensive rebound
13:42
Alier Maluk turnover (Patrick Punch steals)
13:26
Chance Sutton misses two point jump shot
13:24
AJ Swinton defensive rebound
13:09
Chauncey Wiggins misses three point jump shot
13:07
Patrick Punch defensive rebound
12:55
Martin Somerville personal foul
12:32
Patrick Punch misses three point jump shot
12:30
Seminoles defensive rebound
12:30
Chance Sutton personal foul
12:30
+1
Cam Miles makes regular free throw 1 of 2
7-18
12:30
+1
Cam Miles makes regular free throw 2 of 2
7-19
12:24
Delkedric Holmes turnover (AJ Swinton steals)
12:16
Alier Maluk offensive foul
12:16
Alier Maluk turnover (offensive foul)
12:03
Delkedric Holmes misses three point jump shot
12:01
Seminoles defensive rebound
11:55
TV timeout
11:43
+3
Cam Miles makes three point jump shot (Robert McCray V assists)
7-22
11:31
Patrick Punch misses three point jump shot
11:29
Alex Steen defensive rebound
11:20
Chauncey Wiggins misses three point jump shot
11:18
Alex Steen offensive rebound
11:06
Lamont Sams shooting foul (Alex Steen draws the foul)
11:06
+1
Alex Steen makes regular free throw 1 of 2
7-23
11:06
+1
Alex Steen makes regular free throw 2 of 2
7-24
10:59
+2
Chance Sutton makes two point layup (X'Zaevion Barnett assists)