Florida State is 0-2 for the first time under longtime coach Leonard Hamilton.
The Seminoles will try to break their early-season slide on Monday night when they host Troy University in Tallahassee, Fla.
The Trojans (2-0) have had the opposite start to FSU, but the Seminoles will be their toughest test so far as their wins came against Division II Montevallo and Division III Mississippi University for Women.
Already without guards Chandler Jackson (thumb) and Jeremiah Bembry (back) and forwards De’Ante Green (knee), Baba Miller (suspension) and Jaylan Gainey (knee), things got worse for FSU during a 68-54 loss to UCF on Friday.
Center Naheem McLeod suffered an injury which Hamilton referred to as a “slight Achilles issue” with a little over 11 minutes left in the first half and is likely out “about six or seven weeks.”
“Every team goes through those periods where it seems you have that one issue pop, and then another, and this is that period we are going through that,” Hamilton said. “We’ll figure out a way to overcome it and give a full account of ourselves hopefully.”
Darin Green Jr., who scored a team-high 17 points against his former school, is leading FSU with 12.5 points per game. But FSU was crushed on the boards by UCF, 52-22.
McLeod’s absence may aid Troy, which just outrebounded MUW 46-32 during a 96-42 win while also forcing 30 turnovers in the blowout win.
The Trojans have been led by 6-foot-3 guard Nelson Phillips, who is averaging 18.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and three assists per game through the first two contests.
Phillips shot 8 of 11 and finished with 20 points to clinch Troy’s first 2-0 start since the 2016-17 season.
“(Thursday) was a good win for the program. Our guys came, and we were very explosive in the first half in terms of knocking down shots and getting to the basket,” Troy coach Scott Cross said. “We had a ton of energy throughout the game and limited them to a low shot percentage.”
–Field Level Media