ESTERO — Florida Gulf Coast University officials won’t be passing out slingshots in Alico Arena for tonight’s women's basketball season-opener against No. 19 Florida State.

But make no mistake, FGCU is a longshot here. And playing the role of Giant Killer is not a position with which the Eagles -- who are 132-21, including last season’s 34-1 Division II national runner-up campaign, in the its five-year history under Karl Smesko -- are accustomed.

Toss in FGCU’s loss of its top-three scorers, much of its rebounding and half its steals from a season ago and mix that with practices that have given Smesko more cause for alarm than hope, and the timing for this mega-matchup sure seems off.

“I’ll be perfectly blunt: I don’t think we’re ready to play a game right now,” said Smesko on Wednesday afternoon. “We haven’t put in enough consistency in practice.”

This is FGCU’s first-ever Division I matchup in this first of four transitional seasons from D-II independent. It comes against a team that returns four starters from last season’s 24-10 campaign that ended in the Sweet 16, punctuating the third consecutive 20-win season under FSU coach Sue Semrau. This is the season-opener for FSU, but the Seminoles won their two exhibition games by a combined 172-132 margin.

“We’re coming together and trying to get our rotations right,” Semrau said. “We feel like we’re pretty solid, but it feels like the games come quicker and quicker.”

Said Smesko, his head shaking: “They’re a very big team -- they’ve got some very good post players. They are exceptionally quick on the perimeter. Coach Semrau has done a great job compiling a team. I really thought they’d be ranked a little bit higher.

“They play in the best conference (Atlantic Coast) and are very competitive in that league. They don’t have a lot of weaknesses.”

But don’t look for white flags flapping in Alico Arena tonight.

“We’re going to be at a lot of disadvantages in this game,” Smesko said. “We need to find ways to put ourselves in some advantages. We’re going to have to do that by playing five people on offense and make sure all five of their players have to guard -- they can’t just sit in there and block shots. We have to move people around and try to put them in situations where they’d rather not be.

“It’s not going to be easy.”

Said senior point guard Chelsea Dermyer (along with sophomore forward Adrianne McNally, one of only two returning starters) of the underdog role: “It is different, but it’s almost exciting. We’re getting an opportunity to play a big school and show people how we play. It’s awesome that we’re getting the opportunity to compete at this level.

“They’re big and athletic. But just like every team, they have their weakness and we just have to exploit them.

“You can’t go into a game thinking you don’t have a shot.”

She may have been doing her best Lou Holtz impersonation, but Semrau insisted her team (which sports two 6-4 starters; FGCU’s tallest player is 6-1 freshman reserve forward Madeleine Doyle) is not overlooking FGCU.

“Well, we haven’t allowed ourselves to get overconfident because we know what our goals are for this year,” Semrau said. “Every day, every possession, is vital for us to reach those goals. And with us going on the road -- I know they have a great environment down there, a team that’s used to winning and being in championship games -- I don’t think there’s anything to be overconfident about, and I don’t think our players do, either.”

Matter of fact, Semrau worked hard to scout the Eagles, who did not play an exhibition game, although that wasn’t much help due to the massive FGCU changes and its D-II background. So she is judging FGCU on its typical style of play -- pressing, trapping, running in transition, firing plenty of 3-pointers -- and recent history.

“They were a really good basketball team last year,” Semrau said. “You don’t go to the Final Four and get in the national championship game unless you’re really good. I know Karl is a great coach, and obviously we’ve done as much research as we could.

“The difficult part for us is going to be they can play five out and can shoot the basketball extremely well. We have a lot more size than Florida Gulf Coast does, but on the defensive end, they can really run you around -- big kids that aren’t used to chasing shooters.

“I think it will be a tough matchup for us in that way.”

The home-court advantage could play a big role, especially if the record set in 4,500-set Alico Arena (4,012 in last season’s South Region final win against Delta State) is eclipsed.

“I don’t know if we’ll get the kind of crowd we had for our tournament game last year, but it would be nice,” Smesko said. “It made a big difference, and I think it would mean a lot to our team.”

Said Dermyer: “Having that type of crowd definitely adds something to how you play.”

The Eagles will need all the help they can get tonight.

FGCU EAGLES (0-0) vs. FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES (0-0)

WHEN: Tonight, 7:30

WHERE: Alico Arena, Estero

TV/VIDEOSTREAM: None

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS: FGCU-No. 15 5-7 SR G Chelsea Dermyer (5.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg last season), No. 3 5-9 SR G Amanda Pierce (4.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg), No. 11 5-10 SO G/F Ashley Haegele (6.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg), No. 50 SR F Delia De La Torre (7.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg), No. 25 SO F Andrianne McNally (6.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg); FSU-No. 20 5-11 JR G Tanae Davis-Cain (9.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg), No. 22 5-7 SR Shante Williams (8.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg), No. 10 6-1 JR G Mara Freshour (5.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg), No. 33 6-4 JR C Brittany Miller (12.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg), No. 50 6-4 SO F/C Jacinta Moore (8.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg)

OF NOTE: FGCU cannot play in the NCAA or Atlantic Sun Conference Tournaments until 2011, but the Eagles can net an automatic NIT berth by winning the A-Sun’s regular season title. FGCU was picked last and 11th in the media and coaches polls. FGCU coach Karl Smesko said he has “no idea” if winning the A-Sun regular season title is possible, but his players have been adamant that, with major improvement, they can. ... The loss of seniors Kate Schrader (a D-II All-American), Alex Nelson and Jen Conely as well as the transfer of then-freshman Steffi Sorensen from last year’s 34-1 team means major changes, even for FGCU’s returning starters -- Dermyer, McNally. Smesko said his team found a “comfort zone” last season, but will not have that luxury this season. ... FGCU generally plays seven or eight games in the first couple of weeks of the season. This time, FGCU plays just three games before December, giving Smesko hope that his team can improve greatly before conference play. ... FGCU JR F Patrice McKenzie, a 6-0 transfer from Dodge City (Kan.) CC, was slated to start, but the extent of damage to a swollen knee has not yet been determined. ... FGCU loves shooting 3-pointers. Last season the Eagles fired 891 (making 337). FGCU outscored its foes 79.7-46.1, outrebounded them 39.0-32.2 and forced 362 more turnovers than it suffered. ... FSU outscored its opponents 67.0-63.3 last season and outrebounded them 41.2-36.7. The Seminoles shot just 377 treys, making 116.

Roster

Karl Smesko -- Head Coach (6th season, Kent State ‘93)

Nathan Daume -- Assistant Coach (1st season, Missouri ‘94)

Ericka Haney -- Assistant Coach (1st season, Notre Dame ‘02)

No. Name Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown/Previous School

3 Amanda Pierce G 5-9 Sr. Altoona, Pa./St. Bonaventure

4 Candace Carreras F 5-9 Jr. Boca Raton, Fla./Pope John Paul II

5 Jackie Thiel G 5-3 Jr. Plainview, Tex./Odessa College

11 Ashley Haegele G/F 5-10 Sr. Imperial, Mo./Jefferson College

12 Kristine Herman G 5-11 Fr. San Ramon, Calif./Granada HS

14 Diana Jacklin F 6-0 Fr. Berwyn, Ill./Morton West HS

15 Chelsea Dermyer G 5-7 Sr. Fort Collins, Col./Yavapai C.C.

21 Bri Zabel F 6-0 Fr. Northfield, Minn./Northfield HS

22 Patrice McKenzie F 6-0 Jr. Dunedin, New Zealand/Dodge City CC

23 Shannon Murphy G 5-7 Fr. Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS

24 Madeleine Doyle F 6-1 Fr. Gobles, Mich./Gobles HS

25 Adrianne McNally F 5-11 So. Howell, Mich./Pinckney HS

33 Lindsey Newpher F 5-9 Jr. Depew, Okla./Kansas City Kansas CC

50 Delia De La Torre F 5-9 Sr. Las Cruces, N.M./Garden City C.C.

Schedule

Nov. 9 Florida State, Alico Arena, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 23 Central Connecticut State (FGCU Tourney) Alico Arena, 7 p.m.

Nov. 24 Valparaiso/Eastern Kentucky (FGCU Tourney) Alico Arena, TBA

Nov. 30 Bowling Green State (Cornell Tourney) Ithaca, N.Y., 5 p.m.

Dec. 1 Gardner Webb/Cornell (Cornell Tourney) Ithaca, N.Y., TBA

Dec. 4 Florida, Gainesville, 7 p.m.

Dec. 9 Central Florida, Orlando, 1 p.m.

Dec. 17 Florida A&M, Tallahassee, 5 p.m.

Dec. 20 Texas Pan-American (FGCU Tourney) Alico Arena, 7 p.m.

Dec. 21 Memphis/Loyola (Chicago) (FGCU Tourney) Alico Arena, TBA

Jan. 5 Jacksonville* Jacksonville, 1 p.m.

Jan. 7 North Florida* Jacksonville, 7 p.m.

Jan. 12 Stetson* Alico Arena, 7 p.m.

Jan. 19 Kennesaw State* Alico Arena, 5 p.m.

Jan. 21 Mercer* Alico Arena, 7 p.m.

Jan. 26 Gardner Webb* Boiling Springs, N.C., 6 p.m.

Jan. 28 Campbell* Buies Creek, N.C., 7 p.m.

Feb. 2 Belmont* Nashville, Tenn., 6 p.m.

Feb. 4 Lipscomb* Alico Arena, 7 p.m.

Feb. 9 USC-Upstate* Alico Arena, 7 p.m.

Feb. 11 East Tennessee State* Alico Arena, 7 p.m.

Feb. 16 Kennesaw State* Kennesaw, Ga., 3 p.m.

Feb. 18 Mercer* Macon, Ga., 7 p.m.

Feb. 23 Stetson* DeLand, 2 p.m.

Feb. 28 Jacksonville* Alico Arena, 5 p.m.

March 1 North Florida* Alico Arena, 5 p.m.

March 6 National Independent Tournament Edinburg, Tex.

March 7 National Independent Tournament Edinburg, Tex.

March 8 National Independent Tournament Edinburg, Tex.