After consecutive road losses, Florida State returns home on Monday to take on the ACC’s worst team, the Boston College Eagles. The Seminoles were defeated on Saturday at Pittsburgh and will have a short turnaround as they look to remain undefeated at the Donald L. Tucker Center this season.
Unlike last season, Boston College does have an ACC victory to its credit — two to be exact. The Eagles however, have yet to collect a win on the road in conference and enter Monday’s contest having lost 10 straight. FSU won both meetings over Boston College last season, winning at Chestnut Hill and then again in the ACC Tournament. The Eagles have lost five straight in the series and have not won in Tallahassee since February 2007.
The Match-Up
Who: Boston College Eagles (9-18, 2-12 ACC) at No. 17 Florida State Seminoles (21-6, 9-4 ACC)
When: Monday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. EST (ESPNU)
Where: Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida
Key Players
For Boston College: Sophomore guard Jerome Robinson is quietly having an outstanding season for Boston College, averaging a team-high 19.1 points per game. Freshman guard Ky Bowman is averaging better than 14 points while shooting 50 percent from the field. Forward A.J. Turner scores more than eight points per game and averages a team-high 3.3 assists.
For Florida State: Despite being held scoreless his last time out, Dwayne Bacon averages nearly 17 points to lead the Seminoles. Jonathan Isaac averages 12.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. Redshirt junior guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes scores better than 10 points per game while dishing out a team-high 4.7 assists.
What to Watch For
Dwayne Bacon: Dwayne Bacon’s effort against Pittsburgh was limited to 20 minutes and four shots. Entering the game, Bacon had scored in double-figures in every game this season for FSU, but was held scoreless on Saturday. Bacon has been struggling of late and so have the Seminoles as a team. Against Boston College last season, Bacon averaged 12.5 points on 40 percent shooting.
Free throw shooting: For Florida State fans, this may be hard to believe, but on Monday, the Seminoles will actually be facing a team that shoots free throws worse than them. FSU followed up a 7-for-22 effort at the charity stripe with a lackluster 9-for-15 showing at Pitt that included missed front ends on two critical 1-and-1s down the stretch. As a team, FSU shoots just over 68 percent. The only team in the ACC worse? Boston College at 67.4 percent.
Jerome Robinson: Boston College sophomore guard Jerome Robinson isn’t a household name, but he is fun to watch. Averaging better than 19 points per contest, the Eagles might need a big game from Robinson to keep things interesting on Monday night. Robinson struggled his last time out against Notre Dame with just 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting, but has hit the 20-point mark in ACC play six times in 14 conference games this season.
Depth: There appear to be several areas where Florida State should have the advantage over Boston College on Monday night, but a big one should be the bench. With Ty Graves injured, Boston College has only seven players who average at least 10 minutes per game. The Seminoles have 10. Pittsburgh’s bench did a good job against FSU on Saturday, however. It’ll be interesting to see if BC can do the same.
Number to Pay Attention To
18: That’s the number of consecutive games that FSU has won at home dating back to last season. Boston College hasn’t won a road game in the ACC in nearly two years.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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