Florida State at Virginia, Noon Saturday ACC Network
First, a note on the TV station for this game. If you go to tvguide.com and look at the listings for Charlottesville, the game is listed as being on Fox station WTTG at noon. However, the game that is listed on NBC29 at noon is Florida State at Miami, which of course makes no sense. FSU is playing Virginia. so I would not be surprised if the game is actually going to come on NBC29. Either way, it looks like it will be one of those channels and if you can't get it on one of those, ESPN3.com will also have the game.
Ok, on to the game itself. Hello, Seminoles, we meet again. It seems like Virginia just faced FSU (12-4, 3-1 ACC) and that's because it did. Only two weeks ago, Virginia opened up ACC play on the road at Florida State coming off a 35-point loss at Tennessee. Virginia took control early against the Seminoles and grabbed a 22-point lead in the second half before eventually holding on for a 62-50 win. It was UVa's first win in Tallahassee since 2001 and the victory snapped a 17-game losing streak in the state of Florida. After only two minutes, Joe Harris went down with a concussion, something that you would think would hurt the chances of Virginia winning even more.
But it didn't. London Perrantes had his best offensive game as a Wahoo with 14 points, Justin Anderson had
16 off the bench, Malcolm Brogdon had 11, and Akil Mitchell had his best game of the year with 11 and 13 rebounds. Only one Seminole, Okaro White, scored in double figures with 15 points. Virginia held FSU to just 30.8 percent shooting. Virginia shot 32.8 percent but made six 3-pointers. The game got interesting in the second half because the Cavaliers made just 54.5 percent of their free throws (18 of 33).
Since that loss, FSU has gone on a three-game winning streak, beating Clemson on the road (56-41, right before Clemson beat Duke), Maryland at home, 85-61, and Miami on the road, 63-53. In fact, Virginia is FSU's only loss in span of eight games that dates back to early December. The Seminoles' last loss besides UVa was to Minnesota on Dec. 3. You could say the UVa loss set the 'Noles right, kind of like the Tennessee loss might have done for Virginia. You have to believe FSU will come out swinging hard at John Paul Jones Arena. I expect a tougher game this time around from the Seminoles.
Ian Miller (13.7 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game, 3.8 assists per game), Aaron Thomas (12.5 points, 3.7 rebounds per game), and White (12.2 points, 6.6 rebounds per game) are FSU's leading scorers. Three other players average more than six points per game: Montay Brandon (9.1), Devon Bookert (8.3), and Boris Bojanovsky (6.4). The only player of note to score above his average in the first meeting was White.
If Virginia plays the way it is capable, it should be able to handle the Seminoles in Charlottesville. Last time out, Virginia faced Duke on the road and if it weren't for a miracle 3-pointer by Rasheed Sulaimon, the Cavaliers maybe would have come out of Cameron Indoor Stadium with a victory. I think fans would mostly agree, though, that UVa did not play its best game against the Blue Devils. It is frustrating to think that had UVa played better, it could won that game. However, it is also encouraging that Virginia can play a team like Duke on the road, not play its best, and still almost steal a win. That speaks to the potential of this UVa team I think.
I think UVa fans would also agree that FSU played probably its worse game of the year vs. UVa but UVa also did not play its best. Virginia plastered Wake Forest and N.C. State after beating the Seminoles and played much better in those games. Also, Harris did not even play against FSU and you have to think he will help out the 'Hoos on the offensive end. And, if Virginia can shoot better free throws this time, that will help, too. The Cavaliers better be ready, though. The Seminoles will be wanting to show up better this time and won't want to fall another game back of the Wahoos in the ACC standings because of a season sweep.
First, a note on the TV station for this game. If you go to tvguide.com and look at the listings for Charlottesville, the game is listed as being on Fox station WTTG at noon. However, the game that is listed on NBC29 at noon is Florida State at Miami, which of course makes no sense. FSU is playing Virginia. so I would not be surprised if the game is actually going to come on NBC29. Either way, it looks like it will be one of those channels and if you can't get it on one of those, ESPN3.com will also have the game.
Ok, on to the game itself. Hello, Seminoles, we meet again. It seems like Virginia just faced FSU (12-4, 3-1 ACC) and that's because it did. Only two weeks ago, Virginia opened up ACC play on the road at Florida State coming off a 35-point loss at Tennessee. Virginia took control early against the Seminoles and grabbed a 22-point lead in the second half before eventually holding on for a 62-50 win. It was UVa's first win in Tallahassee since 2001 and the victory snapped a 17-game losing streak in the state of Florida. After only two minutes, Joe Harris went down with a concussion, something that you would think would hurt the chances of Virginia winning even more.
But it didn't. London Perrantes had his best offensive game as a Wahoo with 14 points, Justin Anderson had
Since that loss, FSU has gone on a three-game winning streak, beating Clemson on the road (56-41, right before Clemson beat Duke), Maryland at home, 85-61, and Miami on the road, 63-53. In fact, Virginia is FSU's only loss in span of eight games that dates back to early December. The Seminoles' last loss besides UVa was to Minnesota on Dec. 3. You could say the UVa loss set the 'Noles right, kind of like the Tennessee loss might have done for Virginia. You have to believe FSU will come out swinging hard at John Paul Jones Arena. I expect a tougher game this time around from the Seminoles.
Ian Miller (13.7 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game, 3.8 assists per game), Aaron Thomas (12.5 points, 3.7 rebounds per game), and White (12.2 points, 6.6 rebounds per game) are FSU's leading scorers. Three other players average more than six points per game: Montay Brandon (9.1), Devon Bookert (8.3), and Boris Bojanovsky (6.4). The only player of note to score above his average in the first meeting was White.
If Virginia plays the way it is capable, it should be able to handle the Seminoles in Charlottesville. Last time out, Virginia faced Duke on the road and if it weren't for a miracle 3-pointer by Rasheed Sulaimon, the Cavaliers maybe would have come out of Cameron Indoor Stadium with a victory. I think fans would mostly agree, though, that UVa did not play its best game against the Blue Devils. It is frustrating to think that had UVa played better, it could won that game. However, it is also encouraging that Virginia can play a team like Duke on the road, not play its best, and still almost steal a win. That speaks to the potential of this UVa team I think.
I think UVa fans would also agree that FSU played probably its worse game of the year vs. UVa but UVa also did not play its best. Virginia plastered Wake Forest and N.C. State after beating the Seminoles and played much better in those games. Also, Harris did not even play against FSU and you have to think he will help out the 'Hoos on the offensive end. And, if Virginia can shoot better free throws this time, that will help, too. The Cavaliers better be ready, though. The Seminoles will be wanting to show up better this time and won't want to fall another game back of the Wahoos in the ACC standings because of a season sweep.
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