Virginia at Florida State, 7 p.m. ESPN2
The Cavaliers come to Tallahassee today seeking to regain some of the swagger they had in their win over Duke last Thursday in Charlottesville.
Virginia lost at Boston College on Sunday, 53-52, on a 3-pointer with eight seconds left after leading most of the game. The Cavaliers are 17-1 at home this year but just 3-7 on the road, 2-6 in the ACC on the road. UVa defeated Florida State in the teams' first meeting this season, 56-36, in Charlottesville on Jan. 19. The Cavs held the Seminoles to just 15 first-half points on the way to a 33-15 halftime lead. Joe Harris led the team with 17 points and Akil Mitchell added 13. No one for Florida State scored in double figures.
Since that game, Florida State has gone 5-7 and is now 15-14 and 7-9 in the conference in seventh place. Last time out, FSU fell to at North Carolina, 79-58, on Sunday. Virginia has gone 8-4 since that contest and is now 20-9 and 10-6 in the ACC in fifth place but can remained tied for fourth with N.C. State with a victory at FSU. The Wolfpack downed Wake Forest at home Wednesday night.
Virginia is fighting for an NCAA tournament bid and Florida State is fighting for an NIT bid. The 'Noles must finish with an overall record of .500 or better to be eligible for the NIT.
Florida State is led by senior guard Michael Snaer, who is averaging 14.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Junior forward Okaro White is second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.2 points and six rebounds per game. Terrance Shannon, who suffered a scary injury against Virginia, is third on the squad in scoring at 8.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Shannon was reaching for the ball against the Cavs and his head hit the hip of Evan Nolte just right and Shannon slumped to the ground. The injury looked bad, but it actually wasn't too serious and seemed to be more of a stinger. Still though, Shannon was held out of physical activities for awhile. He returned against the Tar Heels on Sunday, contributing three points in three minutes. After that trio, FSU has five players that score at least five points per game: Aaron Thomas, Devon Bookert, Ian Miller, Terry Whisnant, and Kiel Turpin.
The 'Noles lead the ACC in free throw shooting (72.8 percent) and have hit 34 of their last 38 attempts from the charity stripe so Virginia must be careful and try to avoid fouling them. UVa has not done a good job of avoiding foul trouble on the road. FSU has played a little better on the defensive end the past two games. Physical defense has been a trademark of tough FSU teams recently but this season's team has struggled in that regard. FSU ranks just 308th in the nation in rebounding and 224th in points allowed per game (68.6). The last two games, though, FSU has shown signs of improvement, blocking 19 shots and stealing the ball 11 times. The Seminoles lead the ACC in blocked shots. The 'Noles have also outrebounded their opponent in each of their past three games and have ended the rebounding battle in four of their past six games either ahead of their foe or even with them.
Virginia will have a physical game on its hands. It won't be like the last game at John Paul Jones Arena against FSU. The 'Noles will give all they have to try to knock off UVa and hurt its NCAA tourney chances. A loss would definitely do that. The consensus seems to be that UVa can make things a lot easier on itself by winning its last pair of regular-season games over FSU and Maryland -- both would be pretty good wins, too. Winning two should mean a bid no matter UVa's ACC tourney result. A split would make things dicey. Two losses would most surely put UVa in the position of having to win two ACC tourney games and maybe three to make the dance, which would mean making it to the ACC title game.
Hopefully one of the things Virginia can get tonight is help for Harris and Mitchell. The freshmen have all played well at times this year -- Justin Anderson, Evan Nolte, Mike Tobey, Teven Jones and Taylor Barnette. But they have largely been missing in action the past few games. Even against Duke, Harris and Mitchell scored 55 of the team's 73 points. A solid game from Jontel Evans usually boosts the chances of a win greatly, too, and a Paul Jesperson 3-pointer or even a pair would be a big help. The 'Hoos will need a strong all-around effort to nab the road win.
A win tonight would go a long way to helping UVa make the NCAA tournament but it won't be easy. Parlaying a victory on the road to a win at home Sunday vs. Maryland would be great for momentum going into the ACC tournament and for the selection committee's perception of the Cavs.
As a side note, Virginia has now lost 16 straight games in the state of Florida, a streak that dates to 2001. Virginia was close to snapping the streak Feb. 19 at Miami, but came up short, losing 54-50. It's gotta end sometime, right?
The Cavaliers come to Tallahassee today seeking to regain some of the swagger they had in their win over Duke last Thursday in Charlottesville.
Virginia lost at Boston College on Sunday, 53-52, on a 3-pointer with eight seconds left after leading most of the game. The Cavaliers are 17-1 at home this year but just 3-7 on the road, 2-6 in the ACC on the road. UVa defeated Florida State in the teams' first meeting this season, 56-36, in Charlottesville on Jan. 19. The Cavs held the Seminoles to just 15 first-half points on the way to a 33-15 halftime lead. Joe Harris led the team with 17 points and Akil Mitchell added 13. No one for Florida State scored in double figures.
Since that game, Florida State has gone 5-7 and is now 15-14 and 7-9 in the conference in seventh place. Last time out, FSU fell to at North Carolina, 79-58, on Sunday. Virginia has gone 8-4 since that contest and is now 20-9 and 10-6 in the ACC in fifth place but can remained tied for fourth with N.C. State with a victory at FSU. The Wolfpack downed Wake Forest at home Wednesday night.
Virginia is fighting for an NCAA tournament bid and Florida State is fighting for an NIT bid. The 'Noles must finish with an overall record of .500 or better to be eligible for the NIT.
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| Michael Snaer |
The 'Noles lead the ACC in free throw shooting (72.8 percent) and have hit 34 of their last 38 attempts from the charity stripe so Virginia must be careful and try to avoid fouling them. UVa has not done a good job of avoiding foul trouble on the road. FSU has played a little better on the defensive end the past two games. Physical defense has been a trademark of tough FSU teams recently but this season's team has struggled in that regard. FSU ranks just 308th in the nation in rebounding and 224th in points allowed per game (68.6). The last two games, though, FSU has shown signs of improvement, blocking 19 shots and stealing the ball 11 times. The Seminoles lead the ACC in blocked shots. The 'Noles have also outrebounded their opponent in each of their past three games and have ended the rebounding battle in four of their past six games either ahead of their foe or even with them.
Virginia will have a physical game on its hands. It won't be like the last game at John Paul Jones Arena against FSU. The 'Noles will give all they have to try to knock off UVa and hurt its NCAA tourney chances. A loss would definitely do that. The consensus seems to be that UVa can make things a lot easier on itself by winning its last pair of regular-season games over FSU and Maryland -- both would be pretty good wins, too. Winning two should mean a bid no matter UVa's ACC tourney result. A split would make things dicey. Two losses would most surely put UVa in the position of having to win two ACC tourney games and maybe three to make the dance, which would mean making it to the ACC title game.
Hopefully one of the things Virginia can get tonight is help for Harris and Mitchell. The freshmen have all played well at times this year -- Justin Anderson, Evan Nolte, Mike Tobey, Teven Jones and Taylor Barnette. But they have largely been missing in action the past few games. Even against Duke, Harris and Mitchell scored 55 of the team's 73 points. A solid game from Jontel Evans usually boosts the chances of a win greatly, too, and a Paul Jesperson 3-pointer or even a pair would be a big help. The 'Hoos will need a strong all-around effort to nab the road win.
A win tonight would go a long way to helping UVa make the NCAA tournament but it won't be easy. Parlaying a victory on the road to a win at home Sunday vs. Maryland would be great for momentum going into the ACC tournament and for the selection committee's perception of the Cavs.
As a side note, Virginia has now lost 16 straight games in the state of Florida, a streak that dates to 2001. Virginia was close to snapping the streak Feb. 19 at Miami, but came up short, losing 54-50. It's gotta end sometime, right?
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