Florida State will try to sweep Clemson for a second straight season when the teams meet on Wednesday night at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Seminoles rallied from 18 points down on Feb. 14 to beat the then No. 11 Tigers in overtime at the Donald L. Tucker Center, 81-79.
Overall, FSU has won four straight games in the series, but the last two have been decided by just two points, which included a 76-74 win for the Seminoles in last season’s trip to Clemson. The Tigers remain ranked in the polls, despite going just 1-3 in their last four games. Clemson most recently topped Georgia Tech over the weekend while FSU is coming off a blowout loss to N.C. State.
The Match-Up
Who: Florida State Seminoles (19-9, 8-8 ACC) at No. 18 Clemson Tigers (21-7, 10-6 ACC)
When: Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 9 p.m. EST (ESPNU)
Where: Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina
Key Players
For Florida State: Terance Mann leads the Seminoles in both scoring and rebounding, averaging nearly 14 points and six boards per game. Mann is also shooting an efficient 57 percent. Senior forward Phil Cofer scores 13.4 points per game and grabs 5.4 rebounds while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field. Though he’s struggled of late, senior guard Braian Angola averages nearly 13 points and leads the team with 1.4 steals per contest.
For Clemson: With Donte Grantham done for the season, Marcquise Reed has led the Clemson offense, averaging nearly 16 points and five rebounds to go with 3.5 assists per game. Gabe DeVoe, a senior guard, averages better than 13 points and leads the Tigers with 69 made 3-pointers. Junior guard Shelton Mitchell averages nearly 12 points and five rebounds per game. Elijah Thomas averages 10.5 points to go with team-highs of 7.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.
What to Watch For
3-point shooting: Finding the bottom of the net from deep was a problem from Florida State on Sunday night as the Seminoles went a dismal 0-for-15 from distance. Perhaps the bigger problem however, has been defending the 3-point line. Teams not known for their 3-point shooting like Syracuse, Miami, Pittsburgh and most recently, N.C. State have all filled it up from distance against the Seminoles. The Tigers rank seventh in the ACC in 3-point percentage and eighth in makes. Clemson went 10-for-26 against FSU in the first meeting. FSU recently allowed N.C. State to go 13-for-22 from deep.
Trent Forrest: Perhaps the lone bright spot in FSU’s 92-72 loss in Raleigh on Sunday night was the continued late-season surge from sophomore guard Trent Forrest. Forrest has come on strong of late, scoring in double-figures in four of his last six games after doing so just three times in FSU’s previous 22 games. Forrest was the driving force in the victory over Clemson two weeks ago as he scored a career-high 16 points, which included the tying basket that forced overtime and the shot that put the Seminoles ahead for good in the extra period. Forrest tied that career-high last time out and over his last three games, has averaged nearly 15 points on a combined 16-for-23 shooting and five assists per game.
Phil Cofer: After a nice 3-game stretch, Phil Cofer came back down to earth on Sunday night, scoring just six points on 2-for-8 shooting. In the first meeting between the teams, Cofer finished with 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting and came on strong in the second half. With Clemson being a team that isn’t overly big, his ability to shoot the ball from the outside could lure opposing bigs like Elijah Thomas away from the rim.
Foul shooting: The free throw line has been anything, but free for Florida State this season. For the season, FSU is shooting just 69 percent — good for 14th in the ACC. Clemson on the other hand, ranks third in the conference at almost 75 percent. FSU shot just 60 percent, going 12-for-20 during the first meeting. In what will be a critical ACC road game, the Seminoles must take advantage of opportunities from the charity stripe.
Number to Pay Attention To
21: That was the number of turnovers that Florida State forced in its first meeting with Clemson. It was also a season-high for the Tigers.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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