GAME NOTES: The Florida State Seminoles get their 2014-15 season into gear as they host the Manhattan Jaspers on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic.

The Seminoles are coming off a campaign in which they began with four straight wins and five in the first six outings, the lone setback coming in overtime (82-80) versus Michigan. Overall, FSU posted a mark of 22-14 and was just 9-9 in conference action. After barely defeating Maryland (67-65) and then being dropped by Virginia (64-51) in the ACC Tournament, the 'Noles took part in the NIT where they won three straight against the likes of Florida Gulf Coast, Georgetown and Louisiana Tech, before bowing to Minnesota in New York City.

As for the Jaspers, members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, they lost a couple of games early on in 2013-14, but recovered enough to generate a 25-8 mark overall and a 15-5 record against the rest of the MAAC. The squad claimed the conference tournament title with victories over Saint Peter's, Quinnipiac and Iona, but then made an early exit from the NCAA Tournament with a 71-64 setback versus Louisville.

Florida State won the most recent meeting between the programs back in 1971 by a score of 96-68, giving the 'Noles a 2-0 edge in the all-time series.

Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello is back for his fourth season with the Jaspers and has a roster filled with home-grown talent, a total of eight New York City natives to be exact. The squad brings back two starters from last season and three other key contributors, but has lost a trio of 1,000-point scorers in Michael Alvarado, George Beamon and Rhamel Brown.

Emmy Andujar stands as the most important player heading into the campaign after posting 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest coming off the bench. It may not sound like a lot, but surely Andujar can boost his numbers as he joins the starting lineup and becomes more of a central figure on offense. A transfer from Maryland, the Jaspers will also be looking for more contributions from Ashton Pankey along the front line.

Shane Richards, the 2012-2013 MAAC Co-Rookie of the Year, posted 8.3 ppg and has proven himself to be a perimeter threat as he matched the single-season school-record with 77 3-pointers.

Over on the other side, Leonard Hamilton already has a record of 11-1 in season openers as the head coach of FSU and with a victory today would tie Hugh Durham for the most season-opening wins with the program. Hamilton is expecting Aaron Thomas to continue his growth as a scorer for the Seminoles, although not at the same rate, considering the guard went from just 6.0 ppg two seasons ago to 14.5 ppg last season, one of the biggest improvements of any player in the ACC.

Devon Bookert will again be asked to serve as a deep threat for Florida State, seeing as how he is the school's all-time leading 3-point field goal percentage shooter with a career mark of .466 (76 of 163). He may not provide a wealth of offense, but it is nice to know that he can be counted on in a pinch. Newcomer Kiel Turpin will be asked to handle the action in the paint, although he is just one of three players who comes in measuring at least seven feet.

Considering how much firepower the Jaspers have lost, it would be quite a bit to ask them to be competitive in the season opener, particularly on the road, so expect to see Florida State hold serve at home.