Preview: Seminoles Make Long Trip to Face Eagles

After being forced to play an extra 10 minutes of basketball to get the double-overtime win over Syracuse on Saturday, Florida State will make the long trip to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College on Monday night. The Eagles aren’t considered world beaters by any stretch of the imagination, but they do already have as many ACC wins this season as the last two combined, including a victory over Duke.

The Seminoles will be looking for their first ACC road win of the season and to even their conference record at 3-3. FSU beat Boston College 104-72 last season in Tallahassee and has won six straight in the series. The last BC win came in February 2012 as it upset Florida State 64-60 during an ACC championship season for the Seminoles.

The Match-Up

Who: No. 23 Florida State Seminoles (13-4, 2-3 ACC) at Boston College Eagles (12-6, 2-3 ACC)
When: Monday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. EST (ESPNU)
Where: Silvio Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

Key Players

For Florida State: Terance Mann averages 15.1 points on 62 percent shooting and 6.2 rebounds per game for Florida State, but his status is up in the air as he missed Saturday’s win over Syracuse with concussion symptoms. Braian Angola, a senior guard, is the second leading scorer, averaging 14.2 points per game, 3.5 assists and a team-high 1.6 steals per game. Senior forward Phil Cofer scores 13.2 points per game while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and 5.8 rebounds.

For Boston College: Junior Jerome Robinson averages better than 18 points per game to lead Boston College to go with 3.3 assists per game while shooting nearly 48 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Ky Bowman, a sophomore guard, fills up the box score, averaging 16.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and a team-high 5.1 assists. Junior Jordan Chatman scores 13.4 points per game and is deadly from 3-point range.

What to Watch For

3-point shooting: Florida State is tied with Virginia Tech for the most makes in the ACC with 158 for the season, but Boston College isn’t far behind with 155 makes, which ranks third in the ACC. After a hot start in ACC play from three, FSU has cooled down considerably. There is also a very good chance that the Seminoles are without marksman P.J. Savoy on Monday. Braian Angola has been the guy who has carried the Seminoles from distance lately and is coming off a 4-for-8 performance from deep. Jerome Robinson, Ky Bowman and Jordan Chatman have all made at least 35 3-pointers for the Eagles. Both teams defend the arc well although Syracuse, who isn’t a good 3-point shooting team, shot 8-for-17 on Saturday.

Braian Angola: With Terance Mann possibly out Monday, the Seminoles will likely have to rely heavily on senior guard Braian Angola to carry the scoring load. The 6-foot-6 Angola paced FSU with 24 points in Saturday’s win over Syracuse and has been averaging 20.2 points per game in ACC play. Angola scored nine points and added four assists in last season’s victory over the Eagles.

BC’s big three: The trio of Jerome Robinson, Ky Bowman and Jordan Chatman is quietly one of the best in the ACC, as those three players account for more than 62 percent of Boston College’s scoring. For Boston College to knock off FSU on Monday, those three will need a big game. With Deontae Hawkins done for the year, no other Boston College player averages more than 6.9 points per game. In a win over No. 1 Duke earlier in the season, that trio combined for 76 — or 85 percent — of the team’s 89 points. Those three combined for 53 of the Eagles’ 72 points against FSU last season.

Chris Koumadje: After missing 11 games with a foot injury, 7-4 Chris Koumadje is coming into his own for the Seminoles. In Saturday’s win, Koumadje scored a career-high 23 points to go with eight rebounds and four blocks. Even with Deontae Hawkins, BC’s leading rebounder out, the Eagles will have a number of bodies to throw at Koumadje. Nik Popovic is 6-11 while Luka Kraljevic and Johncarlos Reyes are each 6-10. Koumadje had just four points and four rebounds in last season’s contest. Since returning from injury this season, he’s averaging 12 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks while shooting 60 percent from the field.

Number to Pay Attention To

13: That’s how many ACC teams have defeated Florida State since Boston College last did. That includes every team in the ACC. The Eagles have the longest current drought without beating the Seminoles among their conference peers.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson