Posted by NoleCC

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.