CBB: Florida State @ Virginia Preview
9th ranked Florida State will face 4th ranked Virginia in a battle of top-10 teams out of the ACC. It’s an early conference showdown, and the Cavaliers will try to remain one of the four remaining unbeaten teams in the country. Virginia currently sits at 12-0, while Florida State is 12-1 with their lone loss coming against defending champions Villanova. The Seminoles have an advantage in the scoring department, as they put up 81.3 points per game, compared to the Cavs’ 74.7 points. However, Virginia is the far superior defensive team, as they allow 17.0 less points than Florida State does. Virginia head coach Tony Bennett has made that a focus for his program over the last several years and it’s one of the biggest reasons they’re consistently competing for the ACC title.
Another reason is their ability to share the ball. Virginia averages 15.1 assists per game, led by Ty Jerome, while Florida State averages 12.7 per outing. In their last five games, the ‘Noles have outscored their opponents 427-355, including impressive wins over Connecticut and St. Louis. In Virginia’s last five, they’ve compiled a 381-240 margin of victory, with marquee wins over Marshall, South Carolina, and VCU. A couple of the main players to watch in this one are Virginia’s Kyle Guy and Florida State’s Terance Mann. Both guards have a shot at ACC Player of the Year, and a big performance in this game would boost their resume, as well as their teams chances of winning the regular season title. Mann is averaging 13.1 points per game on 55.8 shooting from the field and 73.9 percent from the line.
Guy puts up 15.4 points on 47.0 percent shooting and a great 86.2 percent from the charity stripe. Virginia is a slight favorite in this one, and since they’re at home, they’ll likely come out on top, but the Seminoles will do everything they can to compete until the end. These two only played once last year, and Virginia came out on top on the road, 59-55, to remain undefeated in conference play despite trailing 32-22 at halftime. Jerome had 15 points, five rebounds, and two assists in the tight win. Mann had one of his worst games, scoring just three points in 27 minutes and recording no assists, so he'll certainly be aggressive this weekend. According to the ESPN FPI, the Cavaliers have an astonishing 88.6 percent chance to win. We'll take the Cavs: 71-66.
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