No. 17 Florida State extended its winning streak against rival Florida to five with an 81-60 victory over the visiting Gators on Tuesday at Tallahassee, Fla., in the season openers for both programs.

Seminoles guard PJ Savoy led all scorers with 20 points after going 5 of 7 from beyond the 3-point arc. Florida State guard Trent Forrest added 13 points and five assists.

Florida still dominates the rivalry series 43-24 overall, but the Gators seemed overwhelmed from the opening tip.

Florida State went on an 18-9 run in the first half to open up an 31-20 lead by halftime as the Seminoles' defense held the Gators to just 24 percent shooting early on. The lead quickly grew to 42-24 just a couple of minutes into the second half, and Florida State hardly looked back.

Seminoles guard M.J. Walker added 10 points in the win, while forward Terance Mann had nine points and nine rebounds.

The Gators were led by guard Deaundrae Ballard with 13 points and fellow guards Andrew Nembhard and Jalen Hudson also reached double figures in the loss. Nembhard finished with 12 points and Hudson added 11, and forward Keith Stone pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and chipped in six points.

Each team committed 16 turnovers.

Florida State was without the services of Phil Cofer. The senior starting forward broke his foot in practice Oct. 23 and is out indefinitely.

With its rivalry showdown out of the way, Florida State next will play Sunday at Tulane.

Florida will play its second game of the season at home Friday against Charleston Southern.

Florida State's No. 17 ranking in the season's first Associated Press Top 25 is its highest since the program was ranked No. 9 in the preseason in 1992.

--Field Level Media