Florida State head coach Luke Loucks watches his team during the first half of Friday's 95-59 loss to Texas A&M at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa. The 'Noles trailed by 28 at the half. ©Luis SantanaNicolas Villamil, Times staffSat, November 29, 2025 at 3:21 AM UTC·4 min readFriday night was set up to be festive for Florida State.
The “Battle in the Bay” at Benchmark International Arena was a pseudo-Seminole home game, even if the logo at half court branded it as a neutral site contest.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFlorida State’s tunnel was decorated with a red carpet, and garnet and gold lighting, while Texas A&M’s side was without ornament. The Seminoles ran onto the court to fanfare from their band and cheers from a crowd consisting almost entirely of their fans. The Aggies arrived without either.
The most personal support went to Luke Loucks, FSU’s first-year head coach.
With 21 immediate family members and many more childhood friends, teammates and coaches in attendance, Loucks received the loudest introductory ovation.
Loucks grew up in Tampa Bay and starred for Clearwater High School before playing collegiately at Florida State and professionally in Europe. He won two NBA championships as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors and was hired at his alma mater in March.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFSU’s most recent game against Texas A&M, a 2011 NCAA Tournament win which Loucks and assistant coach Derwin Kitchen played in, was celebrated in the first half.
But Florida State’s first game in Tampa since 2017 would not go as well. Texas A&M cruised to a 95-59 victory, bolstered by a 3-point barrage. It was FSU’s first loss in Tampa since 2007.
“It was cool to look up before the game and see all those familiar faces,” Loucks said. “But it was not fun to get my butt kicked in front of all my friends and family.”
The Aggies (6-2) jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first 2:15 and never looked back.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFlorida State (5-2) trailed by 28 at the half, and the game’s final 20 minutes were merely a formality. The halftime showing of the FSU women’s soccer team’s NCAA tournament victory over Ohio State on Friday served as both a palate cleanser and further evidence of which team an overwhelming amount of the crowd was there to see.
“There’s such a great fanbase down here,” Loucks said. “We would like to continue this game for this fanbase. Hopefully next time there is a little bit of a better result.”
Texas A&M finished the game shooting 44% from the field, while FSU shot 29%. The Seminoles made only nine of the 41 3-pointers they attempted and were outrebounded by 20.
Kobe MaGee, a Drexel transfer and the first commitment Loucks landed this summer, led the Seminoles with 21 points on 7-for-15 shooting.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFriday night’s loss, Loucks said, represents FSU’s first bout with adversity this season. It regrettably soured a special moment for the rookie head coach and his team, but they were bound to be put in a position to respond.
The ‘Noles can look to Texas A&M for encouragement. The Aggies, also led by a new head coach, suffered both a home loss to UCF and 24-point defeat at Oklahoma State earlier in the season. On Friday, they delivered their response.
“There’s going to be some serious highs and lows,” Aggies coach Bucky McMillan said of building up a program as a first-year coach.
Loucks echoed the sentiment and remembered his senior year at FSU, his experience as an athlete now helping him as a coach. The Seminoles lost six of their first fifteen games but rebounded to win the ACC championship.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“That year could have easily unraveled in a complete failure, but our team came together, our staff came together, and it’s no different (with) this team,” Loucks said.
“As we build this there’s going to be some setbacks, and (Friday) was one of them. But we’re excited to keep building this thing into a legitimate contender in the ACC and in the country.”
They’ll get a chance to respond on Tuesday, when they play Georgia in Tallahassee.
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