What to Watch For Wednesday: FSU Women’s Hoops Heads to ACC Tournament, Men Finish Regular Season

It’s a big week for a few Florida State athletic programs. The season winds down for a few while ACC play heats up for others.

For FSU fans, here’s some things to pay attention to for what should be a big week ahead:

1. FSU women’s hoops heads to Greensboro for ACC Tournament
Despite finishing the season with a home loss to Notre Dame, Florida State women’s hoops will be idle until Friday for the ACC Tournament in Greensboro. The Seminoles will face the winner of No. 13 seed Wake Forest and fifth-seeded Virginia Tech. FSU was a combined 3-0 against the teams this season. FSU is led by first-team All-ACC performers Kiah Gillespie and Nicki Ekhomu, who each average better than 15 points per game. Nausia Woolfolk averages 14 points per game for the Seminoles. Friday’s contest begins at 11 a.m. EST and will air on Fox Sports networks. Should FSU win, it would face either top-seeded Louisville, No. 8 seed Syracuse or No. 9 seed Virginia.

2. FSU basketball wraps up regular season
The Florida State men are two wins away from wrapping up their first ACC regular season title. The Seminoles will visit Notre Dame on Wednesday night before hosting Boston College for Senior Day on Saturday. FSU edged Notre Dame 85-84 when the teams met in Tallahassee in late-January.

Wyatt Wilkes scored a career-high 19 points in the win for FSU. Prentiss Hubb paced the Fighting Irish with 22 points in the loss. Guards Trent Forrest and Devin Vassell tend to carry the load for FSU. Notre Dame forward John Mooney is the only player in the ACC averaging a double-double. Mooney averages nearly 17 points and nearly 13 rebounds per contest. That ranks second in the country. Wednesday’s game begins at 9 p.m. EST and airs on ESPN2.

After visiting Notre Dame, FSU will take on Boston College for Senior Day. Forrest and center Domink Olejniczak are the team’s only two seniors. At just 13-17 overall, Boston College is led by Derryck Thornton and Jay Heath, who each average better than 13 points per game. The Eagles rallied from 15 points down to beat FSU last season in Chestnut Hill, 87-82. Boston College hasn’t won in Tallahassee since its first trip in February 2007. Saturday’s contest begins at 4:30 p.m. EST and airs on Fox Sports networks.

3. FSU baseball opens ACC play, visits Florida
A big week sits in front of Florida State baseball as the Seminoles will leave Tallahassee for the first time. FSU was scheduled to play at Jacksonville and most recently, Mercer. The contest with the Dolphins was postponed and Tuesday’s contest with the Bears was moved to Tallahassee. FSU rallied from three runs down late to win in 11 innings on a Tyler Martin walk-off single, 9-8. No. 12 FSU is 9-3 on the season and will open up ACC play on Friday at 16th-ranked Duke.

Duke leads the ACC with a 1.55 ERA. Starters Bryce Jarvis and Cooper Stinson have combined to win four games while posting a combined 0.49 ERA. Matt Mervis leads Duke with three home runs and 13 RBIs. For FSU, Tyler Martin is hitting a team-best .385. Elijah Cabell has supplied the power with five home runs and 22 RBIs. Cabell leads the ACC in both categories. The teams will play Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday’s contest begins at 4 p.m. Both weekend games are set to start at 1 p.m. EST. All three stream on ACC Network Extra.

After visiting Duke, FSU will travel to face rival and top-ranked Florida on Tuesday. The Gators have won 11 straight over the Seminoles. Florida is off to a 12-0 start. Jacob Young is hitting a team-best .465. Jud Fabian is the top power hitter so far for Florida with five homers and 13 RBIs. Tuesday’s contest begins at 6 p.m. EST and streams on SEC Network+.

4. FSU softball visits UCF, Longwood
Florida State softball won’t be leaving the state any time soon, but it will be away from Tallahassee for the immediate future. The No. 12 Seminoles will face No. 22 UCF on Wednesday night in Orlando before heading to Longwood for THE Spring Games. In Longwood, the Seminoles will play five games in three days. FSU takes on Longwood on Friday, Creighton and Charleston Southern on Saturday and finally Pennsylvania and Detroit Mercy on Sunday. FSU is off to a 10-6 start. Kiersten Landers leads the team with a .345 batting average. Cassidy Davis and Sydney Sherrill each have four home runs.

5. FSU women’s tennis ramps up ACC play
After two hard-fought losses to top-5 teams in four matches, Florida State women’s tennis will ramp up ACC play this week with a pair of road games. The No. 4 Seminoles will visit Clemson on Friday and No. 10 Virginia on Sunday. The Seminoles have recently lost to the current top two teams, per the current ITA rankings, by 4-3 scores. Both matches came down to the final dual. For the season, FSU is 12-3 and 1-1 in ACC play. Freshman Victoria Allen has won 10 straight singles duals for the Seminoles. Nandini Das leads FSU with 18 singles wins.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.