Florida State will look to end a 2-game slide on Wednesday night as the Seminoles travel south to take on rival Miami in the first of two meetings between the schools this season. After getting drubbed by Georgia Tech last week, the Seminoles’ rally fell short over the weekend as they lost to Syracuse.
Miami is a team that currently sits squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble. The Hurricanes are coming off their biggest win of the year — a 77-62 home victory over North Carolina. Miami has won three straight over FSU, including both meetings last season. Miami won 72-59 in South Florida last year. The teams will meet in Tallahassee on March 4 to conclude the regular season.
The Match-Up
Who: No. 15 Florida State Seminoles (18-4, 6-3 ACC) at Miami Hurricanes (14-6, 4-4 ACC)
When: Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. EST (ACC Network)
Where: Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida
Key Players
For Florida State: Sophomore Dwayne Bacon is averaging 17.2 points per game to lead Florida State. Freshman forward Jonathan Isaac has recorded four double-doubles in his last five games. For the season, Isaac is averaging 13.2 points and team-highs of 8.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. Xavier Rathan-Mayes is the team’s leading assist man at 4.6 per contest to go along with 10.4 points per game.
For Miami: Senior guard Davon Reed leads the Hurricanes, averaging 15.5 points per game. Ja’Quan Newton isn’t far behind, averaging 15.2 points on 48 percent shooting. Freshman guard Bruce Brown has been sensational for Miami. Brown is averaging more than 12 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 49 percent from the field and 42 percent from deep.
What to Watch For
Rebounding: For Florida State, the narrative in ACC play is that when it controls the glass, it does well. When it doesn’t, it doesn’t. With a 73-68 win over Louisville on Jan. 21 being the exception, the Seminoles have won the rebounding battle in five of their six ACC wins. They’ve lost that battle in each of their three ACC losses, including by 21 against North Carolina on Jan. 14 and by 14 last week at Georgia Tech. Though Miami isn’t as big as FSU, the Hurricanes rank third in the ACC in rebounding margin. Senior Kamari Murphy leads the Hurricanes, averaging 8.2 rebounds per game. Against the top rebounding team in the ACC in North Carolina over the weekend, Miami won the battle on the glass, 41-36.
Jonathan Isaac: With four double-doubles in five games, Jonathan Isaac has been Florida State’s best player of late. Isaac is coming off a 19-point, 12-rebound effort and is shooting 54 percent from the field over that stretch. At 6-10 with freakish athleticism and the ability to beat teams inside and out, Isaac is tough to match up against. Isaac has also played well on the defensive end of late. Isaac ranks third in the ACC by averaging 1.6 blocks per game.
Davon Reed: Senior guard Davon Reed is Miami’s leading scorer and has traditionally played well against the Seminoles. Reed has scored in double-figures in each of his last four games against FSU, averaging nearly 14 points per game over that stretch and shooting 49 percent from the field. Reed could also spend a decent amount of the night matched up with FSU’s leading scorer, Dwayne Bacon. Bacon averaged just 9.5 points on a combined 7-for-19 shooting in two games against Miami last season.
How FSU starts: During Florida State’s mini skid, the Seminoles have gotten off to dreadful starts. FSU trailed by 28 in the first half against Georgia Tech last week and by 18 at halftime against Syracuse on Saturday. Playing a rivalry game against a top-15 team, Miami’s crowd should be energized on Wednesday night. If FSU is to avoid a third straight road loss, it must play better early.
Number to Pay Attention To
23-for-65: That’s what Florida State shot at Miami in last year’s contest. The Seminoles have struggled mightily from the field during their mini losing streak, going 43-for-134 or just 32 percent. For most of the season, FSU has shot above 50 percent as a team. Miami ranks fourth in the ACC in field goal percentage defense at 39.6 percent.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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