Wanting to make up for the loss on Sunday to North Carolina, Florida State showed poise down the stretch to come away with its second ACC road win of the season. The Seminoles sent a subdued Joel Coliseum crowd home in beating a struggling Wake Forest team 75-68.

Obviously pleased with the result Leonard Hamilton said his team showed toughness throughout the entire game. “Especially the bench” Hamilton commented. That bench was lead by Andrew Wilson. With his season high 18 points, the 6th year senior was praised by Hamilton not only for his scoring, but his leadership among other things. “He moved the ball well and he made the extra pass for us tonight” added FSU’s head coach.

It was Wilson’s poise with the game on the line that provided the impetus for the ‘Noles to some away with the victory. With just 49 seconds left and ahead 69-66, Wilson calmly sank two free throws that forced Wake Forest to play too quickly losing their poise instead of making the plays.

Earlier Wilson chased down a loose ball calling timeout before sailing into the scorer’s table. That one play exemplified Wilson’s hustle all game long.

That hustle was apparently infectious as Hamilton said “There were a lot of team heroes out on the floor tonight.” Among them he named Diego Romero, Jerel Allen, and Isaiah Swann in particular his defense in the second half on Justin Gray.

Gray picked up 16 points in the first half but was held to just one three pointer in the second despite Swann’s hand in his face.

The intensity and focus the Seminoles played with all game long seemed to take even the coaching staff by surprise. “We didn’t expect that kind of effort for 40 minutes” said the elated head coach.

Other Seminoles in double figures were Alexander Johnson (14 points, 6 rebounds), Al Thornton (13 points, 7 rebounds), and Allen (11 points).

But it just wasn’t the points scored. Romero and Johnson’s defense on the Deacons’ big man Eric Williams was tremendous. With the help of frequent double teaming, the duo combined to hold Williams to just 12 points even though both fouled out of the game.

Add in unselfish play reflected by 17 assists led by Todd Galloway’s five complimented by taking care of the ball with just 9 turnovers.

The Deacons took an early 13-7 lead on Gray’s three pointer from the top of the key. Five three pointers later by the Seminoles, three by Wilson, FSU held a 26-15 advantage. Gray’s free throws closed the gap to 28-22. Wake Forest lost track of Allen and he answered with back to back threes both from the same spot on the right wing.

FSU took its largest lead, 39-26, when Allen nailed another three from the same exact spot

Despite numerous and frequent whistles from the refs that sent Gray to the line 10 times, FSU held off Wake to take a 42-34 halftime lead.

Wake duplicated FSU’s shaky first half start with three turnovers in the first two minutes. FSU maintained mostly a ten point margin until the 7:40 mark when Wake began to chip away at the lead

Trent Strickland’s three ball followed a Harvey Hale offensive put back to pull the Deacons to within three, 62-59 with 6:30 to play. A cross court pass found a wide open Wilson in the left corner and the co-captain smoothly knocked down the three.

Again Wake made a run to trail 65-61. FSU however did not panic and patiently ran its offense resulting is Swann’s bank of the glass with just one second on the shot clock. Gray answered with his only points in the second half and Wilson responded with a layup off a nice assist by Johnson. Michael Drum’s jumper made it a three point game again at 69-66 with 2:10 to play.

FSU tried to run the clock again but Thornton’s shot was after the shot clock had expired. The defense stiffened however forcing Wake to call timeout during the ensuing possession. On the inbound pass Swann made a key play knocking the ball away from Drum. Swann looked to bounce the ball off Drum as he was going out of bounds. It missed however but ended up in the hands of Jason Rich.

Wilson was fouled and he swished both attempts to make it 71-66. Wake began to rush resulting in a traveling turnover on Gray. Wake was now forced to foul and Rich and Ralph Mims made four from the stripe that sealed the win for the ‘Noles.

FSU’s defense turned in a strong performance holding the Deacons to just 35% from the floor. More importantly the perimeter defense atoned for Sunday’s poor outing in allowing just 6 of 17 from behind the arc.

With the win, FSU matches its win total from last season and improves to 12-4, 3-3.

Next up for the ‘Noles is a 4:00 PM contest on Sunday in Tallahassee with Miami. The ‘Canes are coming off a 71-51 road loss to the Virginia Cavaliers.

After having played its last game last Saturday in Boston, the Florida State Seminoles were given eight days to prepare for the North Carolina Tar Heels. The game, to be shown on FSN, tips off at 6:30.

As everyone knows, UNC is the defending national champions of college basketball. Also well known following that victory over Illinois, head coach Roy Williams lost his top seven scorers mostly from early departures to the NBA. That left David Noel with his 3.2 ppg last season as the top returning scorer from that squad.’,'However, Williams brought in a stellar recruiting class that included Tyler Hansbrough, Bobby Frasor, and Marcus Ginyard. Before the season, no one quite knew how the inexperienced squad would respond. Ranked 24th it would seem that the 10-3 Tar Heels have done pretty overall with wins over Kentucky and North Carolina State and a close loss to Illinois in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

But the Tar Heels are now faced with a two game losing streak coming into the game with the Seminoles having lost in a disappointing effort to Miami and was physically outplayed by Virginia Thursday night.

North Carolina uses a nine man rotation with three freshmen in their starting lineup.

Noel starts at one forward spot. The 6-6, 232 pound senior is the team’s third leading scorer dramatically improving his average to 12.8 ppg shooting 54.6% from the floor. He is also reliable from the perimeter knocking down 14 of his 30 three point attempts. Noel is second in rebounds pulling down seven boards a game. More important than his stats, Noel provides some stability out on the court Williams needs to compliment the rest of his young unit reflected in his 34 assists also good for second on the team. Noel also has shown an ability to beat players off the dribble and slash his way to the rim.

Junior Reyshawn Terry is at the other forward spot. An athletic 6-8, 228 pound player, Terry is like Noel in that he was a role player last season and now must adjust to a starter’s role. Averaging 13.0 ppg Terry shoots 48% from the floor, a decent 38% from behind the arc, and is second on the team in free throw percentage connecting on three of every four attempts. A decent defender, Terry has 12 blocked shots to his credit to go along with 15 steals.

Earning four ACC Rookie of the Week honors already, Hansbrough (6-9, 235) appears to be headed towards Rookie of the Year honors in the conference. Another in a long line of McDonald’s All Americans for UNC, Hansbrough has played nothing like a freshman in nearly every one of his games this season. Second in the ACC in field goal percentage (63.1%), Hansbrough is first on UNC in scoring with 17.7 ppg as well as leading the team in rebounding with 7.2 rpg. Not the best post defender, yet anyway, he still is a disruptive factor in the paint with 10 blocked shots and 17 steals. The freshman is also a deadly shooter from the charity stripe with a team leading 77% average. More importantly he has displayed coolness at the line in tight games down the stretch. His 14 of 14 versus the Wolfpack helped to clinch the game for the Tar Heels. Hansbrough will be a handful for the Seminoles’ post players.

Ginyard and Frasor fill the backcourt.

While not putting up the offensive numbers as the other two starting freshmen, Ginyard is considered to be Williams’ defensive stopper. The 6-5 swing guard averages 7.5 ppg, 38% from the floor, 74% from the line, and 2.9 rpg. He is not a threat from the arc with just 4 three pointers out of 23 attempts. He leads the team with 19 steals.

Also a McDonald’s All American, the 6-3 Frasor has performed fairly well most times handling the point guard duties. Along with his 7.2 ppg and 2.1 rpg, Frasor has just under a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio. With his size, Frasor has good speed and ball handling skills to push the ball up the floor but at times has been tentative driving the ball inside.

Forwards Danny Green (FR, 6-5) and Byron Sanders (SR, 6-9) along with guards Wes Miller (JR, 5-11) and Quentin Thomas (SO, 6-3) round out the rotation for the Tar Heels.

The quartet combines for 19.1 ppg and 10.5 rpg. Williams has not been afraid to give his subs extended time on the floor as all average double digit minutes.

If there is one problem for UNC, the offense becomes somewhat shaky when Thomas handles the point.

With the inexperience, turnovers have been a problem for North Carolina. The ‘Heels are committing 17.6 miscues per game.

As a team, the Tar Heels are shooting 48% from the floor averaging 78.6 ppg, are mediocre from the arc with a 34% average, and shoot 69% from the line although the ‘Heels have been far better than that in conference play with a gaudy 83%.

Defensively they have held their opponents to 66.1 ppg on 40% shooting. They hold an 8.1 rebounding margin as well.

By comparison, Florida State is averaging 80.9 ppg (75.8 ppg in the ACC) on 50.6% from the floor, 37.8% from behind the arc, and have less than a one rebound margin over its opponents although lately has been improving on the boards. The ‘Noles are forcing opponents into 20 turnovers a game.

How FSU handles Hansbrough and puts pressure on the ball will be key. Virginia did an excellent job not allowing penetration by the guards. And when the ball did go inside the Cavaliers doubled teamed and tripled teamed Hansbrough every time he touched the ball. Florida State doesn’t necessarily have the same kind of post players Virginia has. But expect an active aggressive Seminole defense to disrupt and confuse the North Carolina freshmen.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat:

“There will be 45 acres of playable space, five times what’s available now. Think five softball fields, plus enough green space for up to 12 flag-football fields in the first phase of the project. Next will be four large fields for lacrosse, rugby, soccer and ultimate Frisbee. Out farther, five to 10 years, would be tennis, basketball, street-hockey and beach-volleyball courts and a track.”

The complex will be located Seminole Golf Course on Lake Bradford Road, and will cost $10 million.

That’s great, but will the high demand for the use of the facilities remain when the complex is not within walking distance of the campus?

An eleven point lead by the Seminoles in the first half turned into a fourteen point deficit late into the second. But a rally by the ‘Noles came up a little short giving Boston College its first conference win by the score of 90-87.

A career high 37 points by Al Thornton went for naught as FSU could not stop the power game of the Eagles in the second twenty minutes. Leonard Hamilton felt his team “lost the physical battle inside”. “We did not do a good job of creating space” said Hamilton speaking of his team’s handling of BC’s rugged post play.

Eagles’ forwards Craig Smith and Jared Dudley was that physical presence inside. Smith scored 28 points and Dudley added 25 to lead Boston College.

Sean Marshall and Louis Hinnant each scored 12 points as BC scored from nearly everywhere on the floor leading to 5% shooting.

What was surprising though was BC’s three point shooting to compliment their inside game. Not known as a perimeter shooting team, the Eagles nailed 7 of 9 three point attempts in the second half after connecting on just 1 of 7 in the first twenty minutes.

“Our pressure defense did not bother them” Hamilton said.

Conversely after Florida State got up by eleven, BC’s pressure defense and double teaming the ball caused the Seminoles to take quick shots forcing a couple of bad possessions in the latter stages of the first half. Hamilton added “Their pressure got us out of rhythm”.

Although FSU outrebounded the Eagles 30-29, second chance opportunities hurt the Seminoles. The Eagles scored 25 points off those second chances to just 12 for the ‘Noles. “Had we not given up those we might have pulled this one out” Hamilton commented.

Still Hamilton was pleased with his team’s 40 minute effort. “We showed we can compete on the road with good teams. But we have to win these games. Coming close won’t count.”

Florida State started the game strong able to utilize their transition offense. Al Thornton showed right from the start BC had no answer for him. Thornton scored FSU’s first six points and had doubled that by the 9:15 mark.

Diego Romero canned a wide open three followed by one each by Todd Galloway (15 points) and Isaiah Swann (14 points). Casaan Breeden’s offensive put back gave FSU a 31-19 lead with 5:19 left in the half.

BC switched its defense to full court pressure that obviously bothered FSU. The Seminoles’ shot selection suffered as did ball handling as the Tribe committed three turnovers in the last few minutes.

The Eagles chipped away at the deficit with Dudley’s basket off another offensive board bringing BC to within four, 38-34, at intermission.

After shooting 50% in the first half, FSU had a short cold spell. BC took advantage and Hinnant’s three pointer at the 17:22 mark gave the Eagles their first lead since very early in the game.

A high arching three ball by Thornton two minutes later gave FSU the lead back at 47-45.

But Boston College immediately went on a three point barrage with four different players converting from behind the arc. Another three by Dudley gave BC a 60-54 lead with just over twelve minutes to play.

With the lead, the Eagles went to their main gun often. Smith scored 12 points over the next five minutes. Following another three by Dudley, the Eagles now held its largest lead, 80-66, with 5:29 to play.

Better defense and offense provided by Swann and Galloway sparked a 9-1 run by FSU to trail by just six, 81-75.

With 2:25 remaining, Smith sank two free throws, but Alexander Johnson, who had been mostly silent all game long due to foul trouble, made some noise with a three from above the key. After Johnson turned it over on FSU’s next possession, Jason Rich quickly stole the ball back. Galloway converted the error with a three pointer to bring FSU to within two, 83-81 with 1:15 to play.

FSU continued to stay within two answering every Eagle score. Thornton’s put back made the score 89-87 but just a half second remained when Marquez Haynes was fouled. The Tribe simply did not have enough time to pull off the comeback.

The Seminoles shot the ball well once again shooting 55% for the game. The ‘Noles were also on target from behind the line connecting on 9 of 17. Even from the stripe FSU was above their average with 73% (14-19) from the line.

Unfortunately Boston College equaled that effort and even surpassed the Seminoles from the charity stripe shooting far above their average converting 23 of 27 (85%).

Even with the loss for the Seminoles (11-3, 2-2), Hamilton felt his team grew up a little showing resilience in coming back from the double digit deficit.

Florida State will take the next week to get in some quality practice time as the Tribe does not play again until January 22nd. Back home in Tallahassee, FSU will host North Carolina who had a disappointing loss earlier in the day in Chapel Hill to Miami. Tip off is at 6:30 and unfortunately for many TV viewers in Florida the game is to be shown on FSN.

Wyatt Sexton will not return to the FSU football team. He has decided to focus on getting healthy and pursuing his MBA, according to FSU Sports Information.

Boston College hosts for the first time ever as Atlantic Coast Conference members the Florida State Seminoles Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM.

As Big East members last season, the Eagles began the season 20-0 and were ranked in the top five. However, they ended the season with mediocre results finishing 5-5 bowing out in the second round of the NCAA 83-75 to Cinderella team Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Despite the average finish last season BC was picked by many to finish second in their inaugural year in the ACC behind Duke. Returning four starters from that 2004-2005 squad was a big reason for those expectations.’,'So far those expectations in conference play have not panned out. Currently the 15th ranked Eagles have a pretty good overall record at 11-4. But so far BC has yet to win a conference game in three tries losing on the road to Maryland 73-71 and Georgia Tech 60-58, and at home to North Carolina State 78-60 (and it wasn’t even that close).

Boston College fans are obviously not pleased with the results so far with one fan yelling out during the NC State debacle “This isn’t the Big East anymore”.

Boston College is a little more of a traditional team that runs a flex style offense. Much more of an inside out offense, it depends on a lot of baskets from the post. They will bump you and knock you around all game long. However, that style has not translated into success in conference play primarily because ACC teams have a great deal of speed especially at the perimeter and can deny the ball inside.

The focus of the team starts with 6-7 forward Craig Smith. The beefy 250 pound senior was not even in the top 400 when he was recruited out of Los Angeles. Now he could be a contender for ACC player of the year. Smith averages 16.9 ppg and 7.3 rpg. He is equally proficient on the defensive boards and offensive boards. Although he does not have anything resembling a perimeter game, Smith is a good finisher around the basket sporting a 57% shooting average. A better than decent defender he leads the team in steals with 19 to go along with a team high 14 blocked shots.

Junior Jared Dudley starts at the other forward position. The 6-7 225 pound junior from San Diego is second on the team in scoring just behind Smith with 16.6 ppg but leads the team in rebounding with 7.5 rpg. Not much better shooting from the perimeter, Dudley also is a good finisher shooting 51% from the floor. What Dudley does better than Smith though is he can put the ball on the floor and slash his way to the rim. Also a decent defender, Dudley is tied for second with 18 steals.

John Oates, a 6-10 255 pound sophomore, has manned the center spot while Sean Williams’ suspension issues were resolved. Oates has struggled at times and averages just 3.9 ppg and 3.3 rpg. He second on the Eagles with 11 blocked shots.

Louis Hinnant (6-4, 190 lbs) took over point guard duties from the graduated Jermaine Watson. Hinnant has 64 assists on the season and carries a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio into the game. Averaging 6.5 ppg and 2.5 rpg, Hinnant is efficient in distributing the ball. While he doesn’t take a lot of them (14-21), Hinnant does knock down the three pointers at a 66% rate.

Junior 6-6 swingman Sean Marshall is third on the team in scoring with 13.4 ppg with 4.3 rpg. He is threat from inside and outside with a 46% overall and from behind the arc (24-52) as well. He also plays decent defense tying Dudley with 18 steals.

Off the bench, head coach Al Skinner found a pretty good guard in freshman Tyrese Rice. At 6-0, Rice is ACC quick, handles the ball well, and has the ability to break down defenses. He shoots at a 48% clip, is the main threat to hit the three point shot with 30-72 and is very good from the stripe connecting on 22 of 28 attempts. That all works out to 10.1 ppg for Rice. His quickness has contributed to his 12 steals on the season to date.

Freshman guard Marquez Haynes and sophomore forward Akida McLain, who has played just eight games this season, are also solid players off the bench for Skinner. They combine for 10.3 ppg and 4.8 rpg.

Sean Williams was allowed to return to school last month. He worked out at the University of Houston, his hometown, during last semester while he sat out. Skinner was counting on Williams to be the starter at the five spot until his legal issues blew up those plans. With just six games under his belt this season, the 6-10 Williams has not been much of a factor for the Eagles yet.

As a team, the Eagles shoot 49% overall and 35% from the bonus sphere. A so-so team from the line they average 67% while pulling down 35 rpg.

On defense the Eagles have struggled notably in the post. Allowing just 34% three pointers, Boston College is at the bottom where teams have exploited them down low shooting 43% overall.

That compares to FSU’s 50% scoring average (37% behind the arc) and 68% from the line. Defensively FSU is among the conference leaders in allowing just below 40% shooting (34% three pointers).

Fresh off their second ACC road win in 34 tries, it will be a tough test for the Seminoles. Likely to run into an angry Eagles team (Leonard Hamilton joked after the Virginia game that he was sure BC was taking the next few days off after their loss to NCS), paramount for FSU will be to defend the post. The Florida State guards will have to do a good job in denying the ball inside to the Eagles’ physical big men.

Where the Seminoles are likely to hold an advantage is their overall team speed. If FSU can force the pace to their transition game, they have a good chance at walking away with their second consecutive ACC road win.

Florida State and Virginia played a hard fought game going at one another for forty five minutes. But clutch free throw shooting and key defensive stops in overtime gave the Seminoles a rare win on Tobacco Road in beating the Cavaliers 87-82.

Leonard Hamilton was obviously pleased with his team’s performance noting that his team “played tough and smart”.

The win reflected the total team effort that Hamilton likes to see. “So many guys did good things for our team” Hamilton said afterwards. ‘,’Those “guys” Hamilton referred to included just about everyone who played. It’s easy to start with Al Thornton and his 22 points and 9 rebounds and Alexander Johnson’s 16 points and also his 9 boards.

But with three point shooting being an issue, Isaiah Swann stepped up with 17 points that included 4 of 5 from behind the arc.

Jason Rich added 12.

The head coach also singled out Ralph Mims who only had two free throws, but they were absolutely crucial at that moment. The coach even acknowledged Jerel Allen who also had just two points but gave the team some good defense in his seven minutes on the floor.

As Seminole fans know, winning ACC games on the road has been an issue for the team. Under Hamilton, the Tribe has had just one road victory in three plus seasons. The coach later said, “The guys grew up a little bit. It was particularly pleasing for me to see the kids pointing at each other during the game and saying to each other that we we’re not going to lose this game.”

Hamilton gave credit to UVa for executing its offense well. Sean Singletary’s 27 points and JR Reynolds’ 17 was nearly enough to give the Cavs the win.

Marmadi Diane added 11 for Virginia.

Florida State however worked its game plan just about perfectly and made more plays down the stretch.

With depth being a problem for Virginia, playing good defense without fouling while drawing their players into fouls was essential. FSU accomplished that as Virginia saw three of its frontcourt players foul out notably defensive threat Tunji Soroye and top rebounder Jason Cain.

It was a tight game right from the start. The two teams traded the lead early on in what turned out to be a track meet of sorts. Florida State had its transition game working in the first half scoring quickly on many occasions after Virginia made baskets or turnovers. And if the transition game wasn’t there, FSU had a lot of movement around the basket in its half court sets leading to numerous layups.

The ‘Noles largest lead was eight points, 44-36, when Thornton nailed one of FSU’s eight three pointers with 2:35 left in the half.

But an intentional foul called on Todd Galloway against Singletary seemed to take some momentum away from the ‘Noles. Singletary scored five points in the last 1:25 and FSU lead by just two, 47-45, at intermission.

Both teams shot the ball well to that point. UVa was 50% from the field but FSU was blistering the net at a 60% pace.

A Virginia fan was overheard by radio play by play man Gene Deckerhoff as saying there was no way Florida State could continue shooting at that rate. He was wrong.

Despite UVa employing different defenses to try and slow down the Seminole shooters, FSU continued its torrid pace and ended the game with the same 60% from the floor.

Virginia managed to take the lead at the 10:08 mark on two Singletary free throws. Again the two teams traded the lead back and forth over the next several minutes. Adrian Joseph’s three ball gave Virginia a 77-72 lead with just a couple minutes left in the game.

But just a minute before that, Soroye had picked up his fifth foul. His absence took away a shot blocking presence around the lane. Swann took advantage by knocking down a jump shot and was fouled on the play. Rich stole the ball feeding Galloway who beat TJ Bannister down the floor for the layup tying the game at 77.

FSU held firm on Virginia’s next possession forcing Singletary into an air ball and the shot clock violation. With about forty seconds left Florida State ran some time off the clock eventually getting the ball to Thornton. What appeared to be a good chance for the ‘Noles to take the lead, Thornton’s basket was waived off as he was called for charging with just 19 seconds left in the game. Again the Seminole defense held firm and Diane’s long three from the corner was no good sending the game into overtime.

Johnson gave FSU the first lead of the extra period that they never relinquished.

The ‘Noles also managed to get two more Cavaliers to foul out of the game shortly after Johnson’s basket.

One of the better free throw shooting teams in the conference, the Cavs uncharacteristically missed three shots from the stripe, one by Reynolds and two by Bannister.

Meanwhile FSU was 8 of 10 in charity shots in the overtime stanza. None were bigger than the two by Mims. Following a basket by Singletary to make it 83-82, Hamilton drew up the inbound play to get the ball into the hands of his best free throw shooter. Fouled immediately after Swann passed it into play, Mims, currently the league’s best free throw shooter, delivered with just 10.7 seconds left.

Virginia’s final attempt was no good and Rich was fouled getting the rebound. His two from the line sealed the win for the Seminoles.

The Seminole defense was key holding the Cavs to just under 40% in the second half. On the flip side, the Cavs had been holding teams to under 30% from behind the arc. What has been a weakness for the Seminoles of late was a major contributing factor as FSU shot 53% on 8 of 15 three pointers.

Key also was rebounding. Despite having just 8 offensive boards to Virginia’s 13, the Seminoles finished the game with a one rebound margin, 29-28, over the Cavs.

The Seminoles (11-2, 2-1) will celebrate the win about as long as it takes them to fly directly to Boston where they will take on the Eagles who have yet to win a conference game. Tip off is Saturday at 2:00 PM. There is no TV for the game.

The Florida State Seminoles travel to Charlottesville to face the Virginia Cavaliers at 7:00 PM.

The Cavs, currently 7-5 and 5-1 at home thi season, are 1-1 in the ACC having picked up its first conference win over Clemson 64-58 last Saturday. In that game, Virginia controlled the boards outrebounding Clemson 39-21. As FSU fans recall, the Tigers dominated FSU on the boards. So rebounding will be an issue for the ‘Noles if they are to win the game. First year head coach Dave Leitao also unveiled a 1-3-1 zone that seemed to bother the Tigers a lot. FSU may see some of that Wednesday night. But it won’t be their first look at it as Virginia Tech employed that defense against the Seminoles. FSU should expect to be faced with several different zone defenses though.

Virginia is not deep with just eight scholarship available at the moment. But they are talented and playing with a tougher attitude than they did under previous head coach Pete Gillen.

That talent starts with Sean Singletary. The 6-0 sophomore is quick and leads the Cavaliers in several statistical categories. Starting with his 17.4 ppg (5th in the ACC) shooting 39% from the floor, he is the Cavs main threat from behind the arc connecting on 20 three pointers for a 41.7% average. Singletary is also the team’s playmaker with 51 assists as well as the leader in steals with 26. He is not too shabby from the free throw as either connecting on 55-70 attempts (78.6%). Added to his line is 4.5 rpg.

Joining Singletary in the backcourt is J.R. Reynolds. He started the season off slowly but has picked up his offense as the season has progressed. Even with the early struggles, Reynolds (6-2, 197 lbs) averages 14.5 ppg. He can shoot the three (32%) but is more effective inside the arc. He does shoot free throws very well however. He is second on the team shooting 81% from the line. He also pulls down 3.3 rpg.

Freshman Marmadi Diane, a 6-5 freshman, is the swingman for the Cavs. He averages 8.9 ppg and 3.8 rpg. Not that much of a threat from the perimeter, Diane is connecting on just 35% of his shots. But he is the team’s leader from the free throw line at 88.5%.

In the frontcourt, there are the two forwards Adrian Joseph and Jason Cain.

Joseph (6-7, 195 lbs) scores 10.7 ppg and pulls down 4.3 rpg. Also a good free throw shooter (77%), Leitao utilizes Joseph’s long wing span putting him at the point of the 1-3-1.

The 6-10 Cain averages 8.9 ppg but Cain’s forte is rebounding pulling down 8.3 rpg. His real strength though is getting the offensive board leading the league with 44.

Forwards Laurynas Mikalauska, Tunji Soroye, and guard Billy Campbell fill out the rotation. None of the three are much of an offensive threat and are mainly there for defense. Soroye in particular can cause many problems in the middle with his defense because of his reach. Campbell is filling in while backup point guard T.J. Bannister recovers from an injury.

As a team the Cavaliers shoot 42.7% from the floor, 34.9% three pointers, and are very good from the line at 74.5%.

Defensively UVa holds it opponents to 40.4% shooting. An issue lately for FSu has been the lack of three point production. This matchup does not favor the ‘Noles as Virginia allows only 29.9% three pointers.

The real edge for the Cavs is the +8.4 rebounding margin they hold.

Look for Virginia to pick its spots to run instead preferring to slow the pace of the game down due to depth issues. That will not stop them from playing hard nosed defense however.

To counter look for FSU to get utilize its depth while trying to get UVa to use its limited bench.

This was probably in the Daily Chop and I missed it, but former FSU QB Rick Stockstill was hired as the head coach at Middle Tennessee State on December 12th. He takes over an MTSU program that went 4-7 in ‘05. Prior to this hiring, Stocktill served as an assistant coach at South Carolina, Clemson, UCF and Bethune-Cookman.
During his playing days, the Noles had landmark wins against Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Ohio State and Nebraska and made three bowl trips. In ‘81, Stockstill was an Honorable Mention All-American. This may be a coaching situation to watch very closely over the next few years…ie, post-Bowden.