The 15th FSU was ahead of Ka Tech 74-61 in the ACC opening game.

“Scotty Barnes, he will be the next lottery pick out of the state of Florida,” said Georgia technical coach Josh Bastner. “He did some great plays.”

Barnes captured six restarts, and four Seminoles scored in double figures to get plenty of help.

The state of Florida lost its first Atlantic Coast Conference game last season to Pittsburgh, having previously lost to Duke and Virginia in the opening game of 2017-18 and 2018-19.

“This is a very important win for us,” coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We have lost our first ACC game in the last two years. So, we’m got off to a good start. We’m a team that has learned a lot, is still growing. We’re just happy to be where we are. “

The state of Florida (4-0, 1-0) is in good shape because Barnes is a newcomer who has brought energy and confidence, as well as deep veterans. MJ Walker added 14 points, while Balsa Coprivica added 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Seminoles won for the 27th time in Tallahassee, including four games that open the 2020-21 season.

Michael Devo added 21 points, while Jordan Usher and Moses Wright added 12 points each for Georgia Tech (2-3, 0-1). The Yellow Jackets came back into the game in the second half using a 15-0 lead, but the Seminoles never gave up their lead.

Yellow jackets went 22 off 51 (43%) off the ground, but only 5 (25%) out of 20 in 3s.

“We were given a chance to win,” Bostner said. “In the end it made them 3s, we didn’t. There were three beautiful looks from 3 in the second half. We missed them all. Great look. That’s the difference of the game.”

Seminoles shot 53 (53%) out of 51 off the ground and 47 (47%) out of 17 from the 3-point range.

The state of Florida has won 15 of the last 17 meetings in the series.

Wyatt Wilkes scored 11 points, creating all three of his 3-pointers and giving the Seminoles a boost from the bench. There were 20 bench points in the state of Florida.

“I think we’re very deep,” Barnes said. “We have a lot of guys who can bring immediate crime. There are snipers everywhere on the ground.”

Georgia Tech: Wright, who averaged 21 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, held on for five points until the middle of the second half. He finished with five restarts.

FLORIDA STATE: The Seminoles have gone 31-9 in their last 40 regular season ACC games, including 16-4 on their way to the league title in 2019-20.

The state of Florida moved from 20th to 15th place this week and could make an argument for further progress by beating UCF on Saturday.

Georgia Tech: House against Florida A&M on Friday.

Florida State: UCF on Saturday.

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