It’s final exam time in Tallahassee, as Florida State takes the week off before opening ACC play against Clemson Dec. 12.
The Seminoles already have one grade in for the semester: an A+ in Epic Defensive Mastery.
At 6-2, Florida State appears to be a legitimate contender for a top-third finish in the ACC this season. But the team’s success will hinge almost entirely on a defense that is historically good. According to Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency ratings, Florida State is No. 1 so far, allowing only 0.819 points per possession. If the Seminoles can maintain that pace, Florida State would have the most efficient defense in the nine-year history of Pomeroy’s statistics.
That feat is more impressive when considering that Florida State lost its defensive centerpiece last season when Solomon Alabi took his 2.3 blocks and 6.2 rebounds per game to the NBA. In his place, junior Chris Singleton has emerged as possibly the most dominant defensive player in the country. He has nearly doubled his blocks per game to 2.8 and is sixth in the nation with 3.3 steals per game. Singleton aggressively seeks loose balls, too, collecting 9.4 rebounds per game.
Although Singleton is only an average shooter (44.3 percent from the field), he offers the total package. Singleton’s production has yielded a Total Impact Quotient of 18.1, good for fourth among ACC forwards. But he has played at least two-thirds more minutes than any of the forwards ranked ahead of him.
Through the first eight games, Singleton has helped Florida State hold six opponents to less than 60 points. That’s even more impressive when you consider that the Seminoles don’t slow down the game. According to Pomeroy’s stats, Florida State plays the No. 62 — out of 345 teams — fastest tempo in Division I. The math doesn’t lie: Florida State is one great defensive squad.
Now it’s obviously way too early to crown Florida State with anything. The Seminoles have dominated opponents whose sum offensive firepower ranks No. 205 in Pomeroy’s stats. Let’s see how the Seminoles fare against ACC opponents, starting with the Tigers this weekend.
With Singleton leading the opponent oppression, there’s a good chance that Florida State remains near the top of defensive rankings all season, and the Seminoles end up in contention for an NCAA Tournament bid.
