No. 17 Seminoles have quick turnaround before showdown with No. 9 Virginia
It's never an easy task to play the Virginia men's basketball team -- especially with just a single day to prepare.
Then again, it's not an easy task to play Florida State in that scenario, either.
The Seminoles and Cavaliers, each coming off of wins on Saturday, are set to meet for the first and only time during the regular season Monday night at the Tucker Center in what may be the biggest ACC game of the year.
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Florida State is ranked No. 17, and Virginia is ranked No. 9 (although that number should rise when the new college basketball polls are released on Monday).
The Seminoles are 11-3 overall and 7-2 in the ACC. The only team above them in the conference standings is Virginia, which is 15-3 overall and 11-1 in the conference. The Cavaliers have won four games in a row since a loss at Virginia Tech.
"Virginia is probably one of the best teams in America as far as executing offense and defense," FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton said after Saturday's overtime victory against Wake Forest. "So, we've got to be aware of what they're doing. We won't have the luxury of going out and drilling it (in practice). So, a lot of it is going to have to be mental. Looking at it, walking through it and trying to retain our game plan.
"They are exceptional offensively. They don't do that much. But what they do, they just do over and over and over."
And we all know about Virginia's defense. The Cavaliers are once again one of the best teams in the country on that end of the court statistically. They have held their last two opponents -- Georgia Tech and North Carolina -- to 49 points and 48 points, respectively.
In those two games, the Yellow Jackets and Tar Heels combined to shoot just 6 of 37 from 3-point range.
Meanwhile, Florida State is one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country, currently hitting 39 percent from beyond the arc. The Seminoles have four players shooting above 43 percent from 3-point range.
And as Virginia head coach Tony Bennett pointed out after his team's win over North Carolina on Saturday night, he knows exactly what to expect from the Seminoles.
"They're so big and mobile and interchangeable," Bennett said. "They switch ball screens 1 through 5. They switch off-ball screens. They're physical. They get after you. They have some terrific talent with size. And obviously, it shows (with) their record. They're playing good ball.
"They're really good. Coach Hamilton does a great job. And their depth, they have great depth, they play a lot of guys, play hard. And they really force you to make some plays off the dribble, so you're going to have to be ready."
Florida State and Virginia split the season series a year ago, with both winning close games at home. The Seminoles and Cavaliers, at least for now, have separated themselves as the two best teams in the league through the middle part of February.
But Florida State might have to play Monday night's game (7 p.m., ESPN) without starting center Balsa Koprivica, who missed the Wake Forest game with a sprained ankle. The Seminoles also will still be trying to find their rhythm after a two-week break.
Florida State shot the ball extremely well from 3 in Saturday's overtime win, but the 'Noles struggled to get stops against Wake Forest for much of the afternoon.
Virginia's top three scorers -- Sam Hauser, Jay Huff and Trey Murphy -- are all shooting at least 44 percent from 3-point range. And 5-foot, 10-inch point guard Kihei Clark has proven to be very adept at getting into the lane and kicking it out for open looks.
The Cavaliers can be even more challenging on the other end. They held North Carolina to just four points over the first 11 minutes Saturday night on their way to building a 21-4 lead.
Not that any of this is new intel for the Seminoles, of course. And it's worth noting that they have beaten Virginia at least once in five of the past six seasons.
"It's just another game," said junior forward RaiQuan Gray, who set career highs with 24 points and 12 rebounds on Saturday. "It's not the last game of the season, so it's just another game. ... That's for y'all to write about and kind of hype the game up, but we're just treating it as another game.
"We know it's going to be a battle. They're a great team. We're a great team. .. They're going to be ready to come in and play and fight a full 40 minutes. So, that's the mentality we're going to have to have."
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