Buzzketball Central: Florida State Seminoles(19-12,8-10) at Virginia Tech Hokies(18-13,10-8) 930PM ESPN2/ACC Network

IT'S GAMEDAY!9 PM tonight vs FSU#WhyNotUs pic.twitter.com/GONGCMMcDo— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) March 9, 2016

Radio
Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network
Jon Laaser & Mike Burnop
Also available on:
Satellite: Sirius: 136 XM: 194
Digital: Hokies Xtra & TuneIn

Television/Internet
The ACC Network
Tim Brando & Dan Bonner

Television/Internet
ESPN2
Dan Shulman & Jay Bilas

.@REALSETHALLEN makes his return to the #ACCTourney today against FSUvia @AnthonyGulizia https://t.co/lBdhXJnY27 pic.twitter.com/zpklK3NKYK— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) March 9, 2016

Ok Hokies fans, time to put all your marbles in the pot going forward. Tech got a favorable outcome earlier in the day with Pitt beating Syracuse, which should move our needle a little bit. Duke escaping NC State doesn't really impact us much in terms of where we sit and the Georgia Tech/Clemson matchup is also pretty much a wash for us since we have wins over each. These young Hokies have to give the needle a kick by beating FSU for the second time in three weeks. Last time out, Tech outlasted a much bigger FSU team by buckling down defensively in the second half to stop what had been a barrage of three pointers from Dwayne Bacon. The Hokies won that game with defense and a stellar offensive half from Seth Allen scoring 17 points as the Hokies closed out the Spear 83-73.

Tonight should be a solid Hokie crowd at Verizon Center but wont provide the noise atmosphere that Cassel does, especially in those waning moments of a game when its all on the line. Tonight they show us if they can play under the big lights when the pressure is highest. Coming in having won five straight is a great start but they will need to draw on all of that to ensure they come out on top. No one wants to go home and Florida State have five seniors that could be looking at the end of their season tonight so expect them to put up quite a fight.

One scary number to keep in mind is that Florida State has shot 47% from the field as a team this year. It hasn't added up to wins so far due to their deficiencies on defense but they rarely have an off night when it comes to shooting the basketball so the Hokies can ill afford an off night with their shots. The lowest shooting percentage on the team is 40% and they have four players that shoot above 50% this season.

The biggest way to counteract this is turning Florida State over. The Seminoles average 13 turnovers per game, most of that with the starters, so if the Hokies can up that total a bit it will take scoring possessions away quickly. That becomes even more important because this is an opponent that just doesn't foul that much which the Hokies have used time and time again this year to distance themselves. Those 30+ free throw attempts won't likely be there against this team even though Tech did manage to go to the line 27 times last time they played.

Scoring wise, Florida State relies on two freshmen the most, even with such a senior laden squad. We have already seen what Dwayne Bacon (#4) 6'7, 210 Lbs Freshmen Guard can do when he dropped 22 on us last time out. He has averaged 15.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.4 APG and essentially 1 SPG. As well as he did against us beyond the arc, he only shoots about 30% from outside. He does more damage with the mid-range jumper so expect to see more of that tonight to try to open up the Hokies defense.

Malik Beasley(#5) 6'5, 190 Lbs, Freshmen Guard put up 11 points on us last time out and has scored 15.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.5 APG and does average the 1 SPG. These two are a dynamic duo that complement each other well on the floor. Beasley is actually the outside shooter with better numbers, shooting 38% from outside this year. He also hits 82% of his free throws.

After the two freshmen guards, its Xavier Rathan-Mayes, (#22) 6'4, 190 Lbs Sophomore Guard dropping in 14 points on us last time out and comes in averaging 11.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 4.5 APG and 1.1 SPG. Rathan-Mayes operates as their point guard, while the two freshmen play the wings. He is the best of this group off the dribble though so this is who we need to watch for in terms of driving the ball or kicking out to open teammates.

Devon Bookert (#1) 6'3, 193 Lbs Senior Guard chips in 9.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 2.7 APG. He is there defensive stalwart though, constantly harassing other teams' top shooters plus averaging 1.6 SPG.

After four guards coming up you start thinking what are people talking about with Florida State being such a tall team right? Well, meet Boris Bojanovsky 7'3, 240 Lbs, Senior Center. He contributed 11 points against us which was almost twice his season average of 6.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 1.8 BPG. He manages to shoot 57% from the field and 70% from the free throw line so not someone we want to see have a breakout game. He has also averaged over 3 personal fouls per game so definitely a candidate to get removed early if we can force the issue. He is tall but lean and moves up and down the floor well, body wise, Kerry Blackshear should be able to go blow for blow with him.

One of the things that has really hurt the Seminoles this year is that Senior Center Michael Ojo missed the entire season due to injury. As a junior, the 7'1, 292 Lbs monster underneath averaged 9.2 PPG, 10.7 RPG, and 2.2 BPG. Imagine is they had been able to add him into this group. There is no mention of whether he is seeking a medical redshirt for next year so I don't know if we should expect him but Florida State already has another 7 foot freshmen this season.

After the starting five for this team, there isn't much to speak of, which is why finding a way to get some of the five guys above to the bench early could be a critical factor. The Hokies will need to hope to have some of the officials from last nights games because today at the tourney the whistles have been sparse. All four teams yesterday had at least 20 attempts at the line.

Florida State does have some bulk on the bench but that also requires them to play a much different game than when they have four guards out there to run. The height goes up but the feet slow down. There are several 6'8 and 6'9 bench guys that provide 4-5 points per game each so expect to see a shift in their strategy at some point if they aren't being able to run and gun against us.

Expect to see a fast paced game on both sides in the first half and then watch Tech aim to slow that down in the second half to really clamp down on a lead by not letting the Seminoles get out in transition much. The deeper into the shot clocks Tech can take Florida State, the better as they just aren't geared to play half court ball as well as our Hokies.

One other thing to keep in mind about the last game is that even though it seemed like Florida State was the one hitting all the bombs from outside, it actually was Tech that finished 11-19 from three to help run away with things. That kind of shooting night doesn't happen every night.

Tech manages to extend the streak to six tonight, winning 87-82 with all the nail grinding sleepy eyed fans tottering on the edge of their recliners most of the evening if the bourbon allows it.

A new season starts in March. At this time tomorrow, it begins.#WhyNotUs #ACCTourney pic.twitter.com/Cw6Cwz3eiO— VT Men's Basketball (@VT_MBBall) March 9, 2016