Seminole Sunday Summary: FSU Hoops Makes Statement vs. Virginia, Tops Pitt

Florida State men’s basketball not only stayed in the race for a second straight ACC regular season title this week, but may have moved to the front of the line.

The 16th-ranked Seminoles made a statement on Monday night with a 81-60 romp over No. 7 Virginia. FSU used an early 14-0 run to seize control.

The Cavaliers trailed by 20 at halftime before getting as close as eight in the second half. FSU responded to that with a 17-0 run to put the contest away.

The Seminoles shot 50% from the field and a remarkable 13-for-24 from deep while committing just five turnovers. M.J. Walker paced FSU with 17 points and six rebounds. RaiQuan Gray added 15 points in the victory.

In a contest rescheduled midway through the week, FSU extended its winning streak to three on Saturday with a 79-72 win at Pittsburgh. The Seminoles led most of the way, but the Panthers stayed within striking distance.

Pittsburgh looked to have drawn within three with less than a minute to play, but replay review determined that Xavier Johnson’s foot was on the 3-point line. FSU made enough free throws the rest of the way to seal the victory.

FSU held Pittsburgh to 38% shooting and just 4-for-17 from deep. Gray led the Seminoles with 16 points to go with eight rebounds.

Malik Osborne and RayQuan Evans each scored 12 points. Osborne paced FSU with nine rebounds. Pittsburgh’s Justin Champagnie finished with game-highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds.

For the season, FSU is now 13-3 and 9-2 in ACC play. Following back-to-back losses by Virginia, the Seminoles now have the fewest losses and best winning percentage in ACC play.

Football

Weekly Commitments: Lamont Green Jr., 2023 Unranked DE*; Gabriel Harris, 2023 Unranked DE*
Weekly Decommitments: None
2022 Recruiting Class Ranking*: No. 10 nationally, first in ACC (5 total commitments)*
Big Picture: FSU landed a couple of 2023 defensive end recruits this week. The start of spring practice is less than a month away.

Men’s Basketball

Record: 13-3 (9-2 ACC)
Ranking: No. 16 AP Poll; No. 16 Amway Coaches Poll
Past Week: (2-0), beat Virginia, 81-60; beat Pittsburgh, 79-72
Upcoming: at Miami (Wednesday); at North Carolina (Saturday)
Recognitions: RaiQuan Gray, F (ACC Player of the Week); Scottie Barnes, G (ACC Freshman of the Week); Leonard Hamilton (Werner Ladder Naismith National Coach of the Year late season watch list)
Weekly Commitments: None
2021 Recruiting Class Ranking*: No. 2 nationally, first in ACC (four total commitments)*
Big Picture: FSU made a statement on Monday night with a thrashing of Virginia. The Seminoles are now true contenders to win a second straight ACC regular season title.

Women’s Basketball

Record: 8-6 (7-6 ACC)
Ranking: None
Past Week: (1-1), beat Miami on Sunday, 67-59; lost to Georgia Tech, 62-48
Upcoming: vs. Louisville (Sunday); at Notre Dame (Thursday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: Florida State dropped a pivotal game on Thursday night against Georgia Tech. The Seminoles face a rough 2-game stretch this week that could decide their NCAA Tournament fate.

Baseball

Record: 0-1
Ranking: No. 24 D1Baseball; No. 9 Baseball America; No. 16 NCBWA; No. 28 Collegiate Baseball
Past Week: (0-1), lost to North Florida on Saturday, 7-4
Upcoming: vs. North Florida (doubleheader Sunday); vs. Pittsburgh (Friday); vs. Pittsburgh (Saturday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: For the second straight season, FSU got started off the wrong foot. A 6-run third for North Florida proved too much to overcome on Saturday.

Swimming and Diving

Ranking: Men No. 15 CSCAA; Women N/A
Past Week: The FSU women finished seventh at the ACC Championships in Greensboro
Upcoming: ACC Championships (Sunday-Saturday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: The FSU women finished seventh at the ACC Championships. The Seminoles did not win a single event. FSU’s men will wrap up the ACC Championships this week.

Track and Field

Ranking: Men No. 4 USTFCCCA, No. 4 South; Women No. 10, No. 4 South USTFCCCA
Past Week: Idle
Upcoming: ACC Indoor Championships (Thursday-Saturday)
Recognitions: Isaac Grimes (ACC Men’s Field Performer of the Week); Ruta Lasmane (ACC Women’s Field Performer of the Week); Maudie Skyring (ACC Women’s Track Performer of the Week)
Big Picture: FSU will head to the ACC Indoor Championships as the highest ranked team in the conference on both the men’s and women’s side.

Men’s Tennis

Record: 3-4 (0-1 ACC)
Ranking: None
Past Week: (0-1), lost to Clemson on Friday, 4-3
Upcoming: vs. Georgia Tech (Sunday); vs. Tennessee Tech (doubleheader, Friday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: FSU’s freefall continued this week. The Seminoles dropped a heartbreaker to Clemson to open ACC play. They’ve lost four straight.

Women’s Tennis

Record: 6-1 (1-0 ACC)
Ranking: No. 6 ITA
Past Week: (2-0), beat Florida Atlantic on Sunday, 4-0; beat Clemson on Saturday, 6-1
Upcoming: at Georgia Tech (Sunday); vs. NC State (Friday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: FSU women’s tennis stayed hot. The Seminoles opened ACC play on the right foot with an easy win over Clemson.

Men’s Golf

Ranking: No. 15 Golfweek Coaches Poll
Past Week: FSU sits in first place after two rounds at the Seminole Intercollegiate
Upcoming: Seminole Intercollegiate (Sunday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: After winning in Tallahassee earlier this season, FSU men’s golf is one round away from doing it again.

Cross Country

Ranking: Women No. 18 USTFCCCA
Past Week: N/A
Upcoming: FSU XC Last Chance (March 5)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: Virtually nothing changed this week for FSU cross country.

Softball

Record: 7-2 (4-1 ACC)
Ranking: No. 13 NCFA Coaches; No. 13 Softball America; No. 12 D1Softball
Past Week: (4-1), swept a doubleheader at Georgia Tech on Thursday by 8-1 and 7-3 scores; beat Georgia Tech on Friday, 5-4, beat Virginia Tech on Saturday, 7-1; lost to Virginia Tech on Saturday, 9-1
Upcoming: vs. Virginia Tech (Sunday, in Atlanta); vs. Florida Gulf Coast (Friday, Unconquered Invitational); vs. Florida Gulf Coast (Saturday, Unconquered Invitational); vs. Southeastern Louisiana (Saturday, Unconquered Invitational)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: After a 4-0 start to ACC play, FSU split a pivotal doubleheader with Virginia Tech. The rubber game is on Sunday.

Volleyball

Record: 3-3 (3-3 ACC)
Ranking: None
Past Week: Idle
Upcoming: vs. Troy (Friday); vs. Louisiana (Saturday)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: After beginning the restart on the right foot against Clemson, FSU was idle this week. The Seminoles have two winnable matches this week at home.

Women’s Golf

Ranking: No. 9 Golfweek
Past Week: FSU finished fourth at the Moon Invitational
Upcoming: Florida State Match-Up (Friday-Feb. 28)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: FSU women’s golf got its season started with a fourth-place finish at the Moon Invitational. Charlotte Heath paced FSU by finishing fifth overall.

Beach Volleyball

Ranking: No. 3 AVCA
Upcoming: vs. Southern Mississippi (Saturday, Seminole Beach Bash); vs. Loyola Marymount (Saturday, Seminole Beach Bash)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: When it kicks its season off next weekend, Florida State beach volleyball will be the last group of Seminoles to get their season underway this academic year.

*247Sports Composite rankings

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson