Isaias threat cancels FSU’s Pensacola basketball and baseball exhibitions

Florida State canceled two Saturday exhibitions in Pensacola on Wednesday because of anticipated impacts from Tropical Storm Isaias: men's basketball against Mississippi State at the Pensacola Bay Center and baseball against Auburn at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

The basketball event, Southern Tip Off, could still get a replacement date. Florida State said organizers were evaluating rescheduling options and would announce details if a new date was confirmed. Ticket buyers for both events will receive information about their options.

For fans, the next scheduled FSU basketball exhibition is October 14 against Auburn at Ballin in Boutwell in Birmingham. The baseball team's Fall Ball debut now shifts to October 16 at home against Jacksonville, with a 5 p.m. start.

Those are separate outcomes: the next dates on Florida State's schedules are confirmed, while a replacement for Southern Tip Off is still unsettled.

Mississippi State also loses its first scheduled basketball exhibition. Sam Sklar of the Clarion Ledger reports that the Bulldogs' remaining preseason games are October 18 against NC State in Greensboro and October 23 against Memphis in Starkville. State opens the regular season November 2 against Tennessee Tech.

The storm has disrupted the Bulldogs' baseball plans, too. Sklar reports that Mississippi State's Auburn exhibition has moved to October 8 at 6 p.m. in Biloxi, while its Southern Miss exhibition has been canceled. Those changes affect a different fall schedule from the FSU–Auburn game that was booked in Pensacola.

Florida State said it continued to monitor conditions and had announced no other changes to its weekend athletics events at the time of Wednesday's release. The announcement does not establish a broader cancellation of the schools' schedules. For the two Pensacola events, though, Saturday's plans are off, and basketball organizers still have a rescheduling decision to make.