FSU hoops: Non-conference schedule

FSU opens 2015-16 season on Nov. 15

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida State will open its non-conference schedule at home against Nicholls State on Nov. 15. It will be the season opener for both teams. Two days later (Nov. 17), the Seminoles will host Jacksonville in the Tucker Center. In total FSU will play 12 non-conference games during the 2015-16 season.

Other highlights of the schedule include the annual in-state rivalry game against Florida, playing VCU in Atlanta and a home match up against Mississippi State. The Seminoles will play five non-conference games at home, five at neutral sites and are scheduled to play two true non-conference road games as well as two exhibition games at home in the Donald L. Tucker Center.

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"Our schedule before we begin ACC play in January will give our youngsters a tremendous opportunity to acclimate themselves to college basketball and allow our team to grow as a unit," said Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton. "We will play a strong mix of teams who are established nationally and others who will be picked to win their conference championships."

The Seminoles will also play three games in the prestigious U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam (Nov. 20-23) where they face Hofstra of the Colonial Athletic Association in the first round and either South Carolina (from the SEC) or DePaul (from the Big East Conference). Florida State's third round opponent will be Indiana State, Norfolk State, Tulsa or Ohio.

"We are excited about this group of players and feel that we have put together a schedule that will help them grow as players right from the start," Hamilton. "There is a tough stretch of games – all on the road at the Paradise Jam, on the road in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and against VCU in Atlanta where our young guys are going to have to grow up quickly for us to be successful."