No. 12 Virginia aims to slow down No. 20 Florida State (Dec 31, 2016)
After notching its eighth-straight win in ACC openers under coach Tony Bennett in a 61-52 road win over No. 6 Louisville on Wednesday night, No. 12 Virginia returns home to face another ranked opponent in No. 20 Florida State on Saturday.
Bennett's thoughts after the win over Louisville:
"Our team is collective," Bennett added. "If that's not a team win -- if how we play isn't a group thing -- then I don't know what is. We're balanced."
The Seminoles also won their conference opener as they knocked off Wake Forest 88-72 on Wednesday night. Coach Leonard Hamilton and his Florida State squad have won 13 of their first 14 games this season and are off to the best 14-game start in school history.
"I think we're growing and maturing a little bit. It's part of the process," Hamilton said. "We realize what we are doing positively, and you don't allow yourself to get too excited when you are doing things well."
Sophomore guard Dwayne Bacon has been the spark on the offensive end so far this season for the Seminoles as he enters Saturday's game averaging just under 18 points per game and has scored in double figures in 23 straight games dating back to last season.
In past years, Hamilton and his Florida State teams have been known for their stellar play on the defensive end. This season, the Seminoles are taking a new approach and currently lead the ACC in field-goal percentage (51.3) while scoring 88.1 points per game which is good for 13th in the country. Including Bacon, two other Florida State players average in double figures and the Seminoles have four other players averaging at least seven points per game.
Despite their hot start this season offensively, Saturday will be Florida State's toughest test of the season when it faces Virginia's vaunted defense in the hostile environment at John Paul Jones Arena. The Cavaliers are 35-1 at home in ACC games the past four seasons.
Florida State knocked off the 13th-ranked Cavaliers in Tallahassee last season after losing its previous five to Virginia.
The Cavaliers continue to take a balanced approach to their offense, something Bennett knows they need to continue to do. Virginia currently is without a double-figure scorer on their roster as guard London Perrantes leads the team averaging 9.9 points per game. Seven other Cavaliers average at least six points per game as Virginia spreads the wealth on offense, but continues to get it done on the defensive end of the ball.
Virginia leads the conference in field-goal shooting percentage defense as it allows their opponents to shoot just 34.7 percent. The Seminoles will need to rely on their backcourt of Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who each went for 23 points in their win over Wake Forest. If Florida State gets good production from their backcourt, they could pull Virginia out of their comfort zone defensively -- something that happened in the Cavaliers' only loss this season to West Virginia.
