No. 17 Florida State will have had a long time to get the bad taste of an 84-72 loss at Notre Dame out of its mouth when the Seminoles take the court on Saturday against Pittsburgh. The Panthers started the year with high hopes in the first season under Kevin Stallings, but are among the worst teams in ACC play.
Pittsburgh is coming off a hard-fought 66-63 home loss to Virginia Tech after winning two straight. The Panthers defeated the Seminoles last season in Tallahassee 74-72, thanks largely to a late 3-pointer by Jamel Artis. The teams are 2-2 against one another since the Panthers joined the ACC for the 2013-14 season.
The Match-Up
Who: No. 17 Florida State Seminoles (21-5, 9-4 ACC) at Pittsburgh Panthers (14-12, 3-10 ACC)
When: Saturday, Feb. 18 at 4 p.m. EST (ESPN2)
Where: Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Key Players
For Florida State: Dwayne Bacon, a sophomore guard, scores 17.4 points per game to lead the Seminoles. Freshman forward Jonathan Isaac averages nearly 13 points per game, but also leads the team in rebounds and blocked shots. Redshirt junior guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes is averaging 10.2 points per game to go with a team-high 4.7 assists per contest.
For Pittsburgh: Versatile senior Michael Young averages an ACC-best 20.6 points per game and rips down 7.3 rebounds per game. Jamel Artis, last season’s hero against FSU, isn’t far behind. The 6-7 senior averages 19.6 points, five rebounds and a team-high 3.5 assists while shooting 49 percent from the field and 41 percent from deep. Cameron Johnson, a 6-8 sophomore, scores better than 12 points per game.
What to Watch For
Versatile forwards: Saturday’s contest will feature a number of players who play the forward position, but can score inside and out. The Pittsburgh combination of Michael Young and Jamel Artis is quietly one of the best duos in the ACC. FSU’s Jonathan Isaac has his own way of filling up the box score. Terance Mann, a 6-6 slasher who primarily plays small forward, also does a number of things well for the Seminoles and brings a ton of energy.
Free throw shooting: Despite leading the ACC in field goal percentage, the Seminoles have been dismal from the free throw line at times this season. FSU hit a new low last weekend against Notre Dame as it went just 7-for-22 from the charity stripe. FSU shot just 12-for-26 from the free throw line on Jan. 14 in a loss to North Carolina. The Seminoles rank just 14th in the ACC in foul shooting. Pittsburgh has been pretty good from the stripe this season, shooting 73 percent.
Rebounding: A theme in each of Florida State’s four ACC losses have been being dominated on the glass. In last weekend’s loss to Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish got the better of FSU when it came to rebounding, 41-34. In eight of FSU’s nine ACC victories, the Seminoles won that battle. Pittsburgh has versatile perimeter players, but matching FSU’s size will be difficult.
Dwayne Bacon: Dwayne Bacon has scored in double-figures in every game this season for the Seminoles, but since tying a career-high with 29 points earlier this month, Bacon has struggled from the field. Over his last two games, the sophomore has shot just 11-for-28 or 39 percent from the field and just 2-for-11 from deep. With the outside shot not falling, Bacon may look to be more aggressive on Saturday. Bacon scored 12 points on 6-for-11 shooting against the Panthers last season.
Number to Pay Attention To
10: That’s the number of 3-pointers Pittsburgh made in last season’s victory over FSU. The Panthers shot just 39 percent from the field, but 10-for-23 from downtown. The Panthers made 13 3-pointers in an upset victory over Virginia this season.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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