Florida State vs. No. 3 Virginia in Greensboro, N.C., Noon ESPN/NBC29
The Cavaliers enter the ACC tournament as the No. 1 seed and face the Seminoles in the quarterfinals today. FSU downed Clemson, 76-73, staving off a furious Tigers' rally over the last several minutes. Clemson was down 20 at one point. The 'Noles survived, though, while Clemson heads home and waits to see if it gets an invitation to the NIT.
Florida State is 17-15 and is going to have to win the ACC tournament to get a berth in the Big Dance. The biggest story about the Seminoles has obviously been freshman Xavier Rathan-Mayes over the past several games, ever since he scored 30 points in just more than four minutes against Miami on Feb. 25, just about willing the Seminoles to a victory. He had 30 points against Clemson on Wednesday on 11 of 19 shooting. He could single-handedly beat Virginia.
In the first meeting between the two squads Feb. 22, Rathan-Mayes scored 13 points (he was the only Seminole in double figures) on 5 of 15 shooting as the Wahoos won, 51-41. He's taken over the team after the dismissal of Aaron Thomas back in December. Obviously, UVa is going to have to do a good job on Rathan-Mayes to pull out the win.
An x-factor Virginia might need to look out for is Devon Bookert. He scored only one point against UVa in the first meeting and just four against Clemson on Wednesday. He was shooting 43.6 percent from beyond the arc going into the Virginia game and is now at just 40.3 percent from 3-point land, so you could say he is due. If Virginia keys in on Rathan-Mayes, Bookert could get open. Other double figure scorers during the Clemson game for FSU included Montay Brandon (17), who had six against the Cavs the first time around, and Phil Cofer (10), who put in five against UVa,
Offensively in the first meeting for UVa, Anthony Gill led the way with 13 points, Darion Atkins had 11, and Malcolm Brogdon put up 10. This was the game that saw London Perrantes collide with Brogdon early in the second half. Brogdon returned to the game but Perrantes did not after suffering a concussion and broken nose.
Since that contest, FSU has gone 2-2 with losses to Miami and Louisville and a win over Pittsburgh in addition to the Clemson win.
Justin Anderson could suit up for UVa after his appendectomy but I find it unlikely. I can't see Tony Bennett rushing Anderson back if there is a risk involved. This isn't do-or-die time yet for the Cavaliers, who still have the Big Dance to look forward to, no matter what happens in Greensboro.
I expect to see a game like the first meeting. FSU was pushed to the end against Clemson, so that works in UVa's favor. One thing I worry about is Rathan-Mayes and Bookert playing much better than the first time against the Cavs. Virginia might need to score more than 51 points to get a victory and move on this time. If Virginia does win, it will face the winner of the Louisville-North Carolina game on Friday at 7 p.m.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 1-5.
The Cavaliers enter the ACC tournament as the No. 1 seed and face the Seminoles in the quarterfinals today. FSU downed Clemson, 76-73, staving off a furious Tigers' rally over the last several minutes. Clemson was down 20 at one point. The 'Noles survived, though, while Clemson heads home and waits to see if it gets an invitation to the NIT.
Florida State is 17-15 and is going to have to win the ACC tournament to get a berth in the Big Dance. The biggest story about the Seminoles has obviously been freshman Xavier Rathan-Mayes over the past several games, ever since he scored 30 points in just more than four minutes against Miami on Feb. 25, just about willing the Seminoles to a victory. He had 30 points against Clemson on Wednesday on 11 of 19 shooting. He could single-handedly beat Virginia.
In the first meeting between the two squads Feb. 22, Rathan-Mayes scored 13 points (he was the only Seminole in double figures) on 5 of 15 shooting as the Wahoos won, 51-41. He's taken over the team after the dismissal of Aaron Thomas back in December. Obviously, UVa is going to have to do a good job on Rathan-Mayes to pull out the win.
An x-factor Virginia might need to look out for is Devon Bookert. He scored only one point against UVa in the first meeting and just four against Clemson on Wednesday. He was shooting 43.6 percent from beyond the arc going into the Virginia game and is now at just 40.3 percent from 3-point land, so you could say he is due. If Virginia keys in on Rathan-Mayes, Bookert could get open. Other double figure scorers during the Clemson game for FSU included Montay Brandon (17), who had six against the Cavs the first time around, and Phil Cofer (10), who put in five against UVa,
Offensively in the first meeting for UVa, Anthony Gill led the way with 13 points, Darion Atkins had 11, and Malcolm Brogdon put up 10. This was the game that saw London Perrantes collide with Brogdon early in the second half. Brogdon returned to the game but Perrantes did not after suffering a concussion and broken nose.
Since that contest, FSU has gone 2-2 with losses to Miami and Louisville and a win over Pittsburgh in addition to the Clemson win.
Justin Anderson could suit up for UVa after his appendectomy but I find it unlikely. I can't see Tony Bennett rushing Anderson back if there is a risk involved. This isn't do-or-die time yet for the Cavaliers, who still have the Big Dance to look forward to, no matter what happens in Greensboro.
I expect to see a game like the first meeting. FSU was pushed to the end against Clemson, so that works in UVa's favor. One thing I worry about is Rathan-Mayes and Bookert playing much better than the first time against the Cavs. Virginia might need to score more than 51 points to get a victory and move on this time. If Virginia does win, it will face the winner of the Louisville-North Carolina game on Friday at 7 p.m.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 1-5.
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