ACC Tournament Preview: Virginia Tech (20-10) vs. Florida State (21-9)

         Round one of the ACC Tournament is in the books.  Virginia Tech took care of business against Paul Hewitt’s dormant Yellow Jackets but the Hokies can’t breath easy just yet.  The Florida State Seminoles await the Hokies, who will have to dig deep in the tank to keep fighting for a NCAA berth.  With just 7 scholarship players the Hokies will try to knock off a long and athletic Seminoles team that now includes All-ACC forward Chris Singleton once again.  Can the Hokies overcome the odds yet again?

Starting Lineups
Virginia Tech						Florida State
Pos.	Player	Ht.	Cl.	PPG	RPG	Player	Ht.	Cl.	PPG	RPG
G	Green	6’4”	So.	11.4	2.4	Kitchen	6’4”	Sr.	10.1	5.5
G	Delaney	6’3”	Sr.	18.6	3.4	Dulkys	6’5”	Jr.	7.7	3.0
G/F	Bell	6’7”	Sr.	7.0	5.7	Snaer	6’5”	So.	8.6	2.8
F	Allen	6’7”	Sr.	13.8	10.1	White	6’8”	Fr.	6.5	3.2
F	Davila	6’8”	Jr.	7.6	5.3	James	6’10”	Jr.	8.3	5.6

Game notes:

• Team	VT	FSU
  ACC Record	9-7	11-5
  RPI	64	45
  PPG	70.7	69.9
  Opp. PPG	62.4	62.6
  Reb. Margin	+2.4	+4.4
  Turn. Margin	+1.7	-0.3
  FG%	45.7%	43.5%
  Def. FG%	41.0%	36.5%
  3PT%	33.5%	33.2%

  Florida State’s field goal percentage defense of 36.5% ranks first in the nation and the Noles are blocking nearly 6 shots per game.
• All-ACC forward Chris Singleton could make his return off the bench and is averaging 13.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
• Without Singleton in the lineup the Noles were outrebounded by an average of 3.6 boards per game.
• 6’10” 240 lb. Center Bernard James leads the Noles in shooting at 64.2% from the field.
• The Hokies are 74-8 under Seth Greenberg when holding the opponent to under 40% field goal shooting. The Hokies held the Noles to 35.5% in January.
• The Seminoles are shooting 45.9% from the field in their last 5 games.
• The Hokies have never won more than one game in the ACC Tournament.

Programming note: The game will be broadcast on the ACC Network locally and on ESPN2 outside of ACC territory. Click here for listings.

    Florida State lost only 4 games after getting beat 71-59 in Blacksburg, and half those losses came with star forward Chris Singleton on the bench with a foot injury.  Unfortunately for the Hokies, the junior All-ACC selection returns to the bench for the Noles this evening.  At 6-9 and 227 pounds, Singleton is a dynamic player who can beat you in a lot of ways, shooting 44% from the field and 38% from three.  He’s even better defensively; the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year has 40 blocks and 53 steals on the season.  Complementing Singleton is senior guard Derwin Kitchen who not only takes care of the ball well, but also rebounds at an excellent rate for a point guard with 5.5 boards per game.  Center Bernanrd James averages 2.3 blocks per game in just 21 minutes of action.

     A big factor in this game will be the effectiveness of two star forwards who are less than 100%.  Singleton was a triple-double caliber player earlier this season, but how effective can he be in his first game back from injury?  Will he play at all?  Jeff Allen showed little effects of an ankle injury in last night’s win (14 points, 11 rebounds), but how will it hold up on less than a day’s rest?

     Florida State is a team that has struggled offensively.  Take away two games against Wake Forest and the Seminoles are averaging just 63.9 points in their last 10 games.  I think Tech should be able to keep the Noles under 65 points, it’s a matter of whether the Hokies can put up points themselves.  Florida State’s Achilles’ heel is turnovers (14.8 per game); Virginia Tech forced them into 19 turnovers in the first meeting.  Tech also sank 34-of-37 free throws in that game.  The Hokies will have to get some easy baskets off turnovers and in transition because the Noles’ half court defense is overpowering.  The more that Singleton plays I think the tougher it gets for the Hokies to win, because I don’t see them sinking 34 free throws in a tournament game.  Intangibles lie with the Hokies in this one, knowing they need another win to ensure a spot in the tournament.  Florida State has already locked up a spot and risking further injury to Singleton might not be the best idea at this point.  I’ll take the team on a mission, and the under.

Prediction: Hokies 63 Florida State 60