The regular season wraps on Saturday and for Florida State, that means an opportunity for a season sweep and a school-record for ACC wins. The Seminoles come in winners of 11 of their last 12 as they head to Winston-Salem to battle Wake Forest.
FSU clinched a double-bye in the ACC Tournament last time out with a thrilling 73-64 overtime win over Virginia Tech on Tuesday night. The Demon Deacons dropped a heartbreaker at Duke, 71-70. FSU defeated Wake Forest 88-66 when the teams met in Tallahassee earlier this season, but the Deacons managed to upset the Seminoles in last season’s trip to Winston-Salem, 76-72.
The Match-Up
Who: No. 14 Florida State Seminoles (24-6, 12-5 ACC) at Wake Forest Demon Deacons (11-18, 4-13 ACC)
When: Saturday, March 9 at 12 p.m. EST (Raycom Sports Network)
Where: Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Key Players
For FSU
Mfiondu Kabengele, F (So.): 13.3 PPG, 1.3 BPG, 50% FG
Terance Mann, G (Sr.): 11.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 51% FG
Trent Forrest, G (Jr.): 9 PPG, 3.8 APG, 1.9 SPG
For Wake Forest
Brandon Childress, G (So.): 14.8 PPG, 4.1 APG, 1.6 SPG
Jaylen Hoard, F (Fr.): 13.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 45% FG
Chaundee Brown, G (So.): 11.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 83% FT
What to Watch For
The play inside: The battle of the big men was a match-up dominated by Florida State when the teams met in Tallahassee last month. The Seminoles held a 43-27 edge on the glass and Christ Koumadje was unstoppable. The 7-foot-4 senior center recorded his first double-double in the win with 20 points on 10-for-12 shooting to go with 12 rebounds and two blocks. Phil Cofer and Mfiondu Kabengele combined for 22 points and 12 boards in the victory. The Wake Forest starting frontcourt of Jaylen Hoard and Oliver Sarr combined for just 12 points and 11 rebounds on 4-for-15 from the field. Cofer led the Seminoles with 23 points in last season’s loss in Winston-Salem.
Offensive efficiency: Florida State couldn’t have been much more efficient during the first meeting as the Seminoles shot 57 percent from the field while holding the Demon Deacons to under 39 percent. Wake Forest ranks last in the ACC in field goal percentage and last in field goal percentage defense. Wake Forest also yields the most points per game in the ACC and only Georgia Tech scores less. FSU ranks fourth in the conference in scoring offense and seventh in scoring defense.
3-point shooting: The saving grace for Wake Forest in the last two meetings with the Seminoles has been its ability to shoot from beyond the arc. Although the Demon Deacons shot just 39 percent in Tallahassee last month, they were 11-for-25 or 44 percent from deep. FSU was 10-for-26 in the victory. In last season’s contest, Wake was 8-for-19 while the Seminoles were just 6-for-21 from deep. Wake Forest ranks just 14th in the ACC in 3-point percentage, but leading scorer Brandon Childress makes 2.4 triples per game. P.J. Savoy has knocked down a team-high 43 triples for FSU while Terance Mann shoots better than 44 percent from distance to lead the team.
Number to Pay Attention To
13: That’s the number of ACC wins that Florida State would conclude the season with by beating Wake Forest on Saturday. That would be a program record.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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