The official start to the Florida State basketball season is less than two weeks away.

After finishing 17-16 last year, the Seminoles are breaking a new group of talents this year under veteran coach Leonard Hamilton. Hamilton is entering his 23rd season with the Seminoles and is in the final year of his contract.

Senior guard Jamir Watkins will be part of the rebuilding process as he continues to build connections with his newly acquired teammates.

What does this season have in store for the Seminoles? Here is a breakdown of notable opponents in the 2024-25 season.

FSU vs. Florida

The Florida Gators will be at the Donald L. Tucker Center Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. This in-state rivalry matchup will be FSU's first stern test.

The Gators are ranked No. 23 in the country after making the NCAA tournament last year and finishing with a 24-12 record.

In the last meeting, UF beat FSU 89-69 in Gainesville. Florida returns three of its five starters, including All-SEC guard Walter Clayton, who averaged 17.6 points a game.

Some key additions include FAU transfer Alijah Martin and incoming freshman center Oliver Rioux, a 7-foot-9 giant out of IMG Academy.

FSU vs. LSU

FSU will begin its three-week road trip by the end of November and the start of December.

The Seminoles will face the LSU Tigers on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 9 p.m. during the ACC/SEC challenge. It will be the first time the two teams have squared off since 2018. LSU was 17-16 last year and 1-1 against ACC teams.

LSU lost three of their starters from last year.

However, LSU added some talents from the transfer portal, such as Cam Carter, a 6-foot-5 guard who played two seasons at Kansas State and averaged 14.6 points a game last year.

LSU also acquired another guard, DJI Bailey, after playing four years at Richmond and former UT-Martin scorer Jordan Sears, who finished ninth in the country last year with a 21.6-point average a game.

FSU vs. NC State

That following weekend, the Seminoles will conclude the ACC/SEC challenge in Raleigh, where they face North Carolina State on Saturday, Dec. 7. at 4 p.m.

N.C. St. is coming a magical season when it made it to the Final Four last year and could likely be one of the ACC teams to contend for the NCAA tournament this year.

Yet, the Wolfpack have some new faces after losing their top scorers, DJ Horne and DJ Burns. NC. St. returned its two senior guards, Michael O'Connell and Jayden Taylor.

The Wolfpack also added Bowling Green transfer Marcus Hill, who averaged 20.5 points a game, and 6-foot-10 big Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, who came from Louisville, where he averaged 12.9 PPG and 8.4 rebounds a game.

Newly expanded ACC teams

FSU will travel west in late January to face the newly expanded ACC teams, Cal and Stanford. The Cal game is set for Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 9 p.m. at the Hass Pavilion.

Then, on Saturday, Jan. 25, it's the Cardinal at 7 p.m. It will be the second time in program history that the Seminoles will play against Northern California teams, but the first time as ACC opponents.

Both the Bears and the Cardinal finished with losing records in their final seasons last year as members of the Pac 12. Stanford returns its 7-foot-1 senior Maxime Raynaud. Last year, he averaged 15. 8 points a game.

The Cardinal also returned its two guards, Kannan Carlyle, who had a productive freshman season with 11.8 PPG. One of its key additions is Harvard transfer Chisom Okpara, who produced 16.5 points per game.

Cal lost a ton of pieces from last season but has a youth group with NBA genes, such as walk-on Stephon Marbury II (Stephon's son) and Andrej Stojakovic (Peja's son). Mark Madsen, Cal's head coach, will enter his second year with the Golden Bears.

FSU's season finale will be at home against the SMU Mustangs on Saturday, March 8 at p.m. The Mustangs beat the Seminoles last season 68-57 and finished the year 20-13 before joining the ACC.

SMU added guard Kevin Miller from Wake Forest to team up with senior guard Chuck Harris, who was the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 13.4 points a game. Miller produced 15.6 a game and 3.5 assists a game while he was with the Demon Deacons.

North Carolina, Duke in the same week

The showdown between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils is always the most challenging team on FSU's schedule. These two matchups can be a sneak peek of March Madness.

This year, the Seminoles host the ACC heavyweights in the same week. FSU will host North Carolina on Monday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m., and Duke will be on the following Saturday.

The last time FSU beat UNC at the Tucker Center was during the 2020-21 season. While against Duke, FSU has beaten the Blue Devils in overtime thriller during the 2021-22 season but has beaten the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 2012.

Duke and UNC are expected to be favorites to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.

The Tar Heels brought back their top scorer, RJ Davis. He averaged 21.2 points per game, ranking 11th nationally. 5-star freshmen Ian Jackson and Drake Powell are expected to be key contributors for UNC.

FSU will get to take on former No. 1 prospect Cooper Flagg at the Indoor Stadium. Tyreese Proctor returns for his junior season at guard after scoring 10.5 points a game.

Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State basketball: Five things to know about 2024-25 opponents