Florida State hopes defensive improvement continues against SMU

Now well into his first season as head coach at Florida State, Luke Loucks gets his first shot against one of his former coaches this weekend.

The Seminoles are set for their second straight road game when they face SMU, led by coach Andy Enfield, on Saturday in Dallas.

Enfield, now in his third different head-coaching gig, was an assistant coach at Florida State from 2006-11. Loucks was a point guard for the Seminoles those last three seasons.

The vibes in Loucks' first season at Florida State (8-11, 1-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) haven't been particularly great. The team opened conference play with its second five-game losing streak of the season.

However, the Seminoles enter the SMU game feeling a bit better about things after a 65-63 win at rival Miami on Tuesday.

While Florida State ranks last in the ACC in scoring defense (80.4 points per game), it has risen its defensive level of late. The Seminoles have allowed fewer than 70 points in each of their last two games, the first two times they've done that against major-conference opponents.

"It was a complete defensive performance," Loucks said. "That's a credit to the character in the locker room and the coaching staff for not allowing any splintering at any point in the season, even in the toughest moments."

Robert McCray V delivered a bounce-back performance against Miami with a team-high 20 points after he had 11 turnovers in a narrow loss to Wake Forest last time out.

SMU (14-5, 3-3) enters off a 91-79 road win against Wake Forest on Tuesday. B.J. Edwards led the charge with a career-high-tying 24 points along with eight rebounds, seven assists and six steals for the Mustangs.

"He played great basketball all night, really gave their leading scorers fits on defense," Enfield said of Edwards. "Had six steals and deflections, then he scored the ball on offense as well."

SMU flashed its depth in the win, outscoring the Demon Deacons 28-8 in bench points, and also got hot again from 3-point range, making 14 perimeter shots for the third time in the last seven games.

Now the Mustangs return home, where they are 11-1 this season, including a 97-83 win over then-No. 12 North Carolina on Jan. 3.

--Field Level Media