Things are slipping for Florida State as the Seminoles get set to make a long return trip home on short rest to take on Clemson. FSU is off to just a 1-4 start in ACC play and on Sunday, blew an early 15-point lead in a road loss to a Boston College team that had previously been winless in conference.
For Clemson, things haven’t gone much better. The Tigers are just 1-3 in ACC play, but are coming off their first conference win against Georgia Tech over the weekend. The teams split last season’s series with each winning at home. The Seminoles erased an 18-point deficit to win in overtime at home on Valentine’s Day, 81-79.
The Match-Up
Who: Clemson Tigers (11-6, 1-3 ACC) at Florida State Seminoles (13-5, 1-4 ACC)
When: Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. EST (ESPNU)
Where: Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida
Key Players
For Clemson
Marcquise Reed, G (Sr.): 19.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.2 SPG
Elijah Thomas, F (Sr.): 13.1 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 63% FG
Shelton Mitchell, G (Sr.): 11.9 PPG, 3.2 APG, 1.2 SPG
For FSU
Mfiondu Kabengele, F (So.): 12.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 50% FG
Terance Mann, G (Sr.): 11.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 51% FG
Trent Forrest, G (Jr.): 9.9 PPG, 3.6 APG, 2.1 SPG
What to Watch For
3-point shooting: During Florida State’s skid, the Seminoles have been dreadful of late from beyond the 3-point arc. FSU has settled for too many 3s and over the last two games, is just 10-for-47 from deep. Defending the perimeter was a problem also last time out as Boston College shot 13-for-21 in an 87-82 upset of the Seminoles. Clemson is shooting 32 percent from deep this season and among ACC teams, only Georgia Tech has made fewer triples. Marcquise Reed leads Clemson with 19 made 3s this season. Clemson shot 10-for-26 from deep in both meetings against FSU last season.
Marcquise Reed: FSU will be tasked with trying to slow down another big time scorer on Tuesday as Clemson senior guard Marcquise Reed comes in averaging just a shade under 20 points per game. During FSU’s losing streak, stars like R.J. Barrett, Trey McGowans and most recently, Ky Bowman have all had monster games against the Seminoles. Bowman scored 37 points for Boston College on Sunday to spearhead the upset. Reed averaged 22.5 points in two games against the Seminoles last season. In the first match-up in Tallahassee, Reed scored 23 points but on just 8-for-21 shooting. In Clemson’s home victory against FSU last season, Reed was much more efficient, scoring 22 points on 7-for-11 from the field.
Mfiondu Kabengele: There have been a number of reasons for Florida State’s struggles during the 3-game skid, but redshirt sophomore forward Mfiondu Kabengle has not been one of them. After tying a career-high with 24 points against Duke on Jan. 12, Kabengele bested that with 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting in Sunday’s loss at Boston College. Over the last three games, Kabengele is averaging 19.7 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 54 percent from the field. Kabengele leads FSU in scoring, averaging 12.6 points per contest.
Number to Pay Attention To
1-4: At 1-4 in ACC play, FSU is off to its worst start in conference since the 2014-15 season. The Seminoles haven’t opened ACC play at 1-5 since the 2002-03 season — head coach Leonard Hamilton’s first at Florida State.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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