HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: Florida State (9-21, 7-12 ACC) at Virginia Tech (17-13, 7-12 ACC) 4PM ESPN2

HOKIES HOOPS CENTRAL: Florida State (9-21, 7-12 ACC) at Virginia Tech (17-13, 7-12 ACC) 4PM ESPN2

𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 🏰🔥Be in your seats by 3:30!!ℹ️: https://t.co/jB1o8onmBV🤝: @carter_bank pic.twitter.com/C9KwRthFwd— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) March 4, 2023

Florida State (9-21, 7-12 ACC)
vs. Virginia Tech (17-13, 7-12 ACC)
March 4, 2023
Cassell Coliseum
4 p.m. ET
ESPN2
Virginia Tech Sports Network

ESPN2
Play-by-Play: Dave O'Brien and Cory Alexande
Analyst: Debbie Antonelli

Local Radio
Virginia Tech Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Zach Payneey
Analyst: Mike Burnop

Current Spread: Hokies -10
Over/Under: -150

Injuries/Absence:
Florida State: Cam'Ron Fletcher (Guard) Knee - 12/4/22 Out Fletcher has a knee injury, and he is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
Jaylan Gainey (Forward) Knee - 10/5/22 Out Gainey will miss the entire 2022-23 season due to a knee injury.
VT: Darius Maddox (Personal Matter) (Expected to be out remainder of season)

Break the Spear...

Hokies's look to close out the regular season with a win at home against a struggling Florida State squad that has the athleticism and size that have proven extremely difficult for the Hokies to overcome this season. The Hokies must limit mistakes and force the Seminoles into costly errors of their own, especially a high number of fouls in the paint. Florida State leads the all-time series 36-22, starting all the way back in 1968. The Hokies last victory against the Seminoles at home came in 2016.

This is Senior Day so possibly the last time in Cassell for several big names. Mutts is definitely in his last appearance but Cattoor and Basile may also be taking the court for the last time as a Hokie.

The Seminoles are coached by Leonard Hamilton, who has coached FSU since 2002, and before that coached Miami starting in 1990. Hamilton has almost three decades of coaching against the Hokies in all their different forms over the years. Hamilton has enjoyed what many would consider a quiet run of success at Florida State considering the other ACC opponents. He has led FSU to 20 or more wins in twelve of twenty-one seasons, including a conference tournament championship in 2012 and a first-place finish in the ACC when the NCAA Tournament was cancelled. He has taken the Seminoles to the NCAA tournament eight times and the NIT seven times.

His Achilles heel has usually been to end up on the backside of the middle of the ACC, finishing .500 or less in eleven seasons, this year included. They started 5-4 in ACC play but have closed the season on a 2-8 stretch. This will be only his third losing season but by far the worst overall unless they find magic and win the ACC tournament.

Defensively, the Seminoles employ a high-pressure man to man defense primarily that varies in its starting point throughout the game. They regularly switch up to full court pressure in order to create turnovers and get easy transition baskets. One thing Hamilton and his staff do better than most is assigning defensive matchups. You may see some unusual pairings, but they aim to best utilize their players strengths on the defensive end to cause the most problems for their opponents. Some assignments might be based on strengths to turn the ball over, others might be based on ability to rebound effectively and occasionally they even identify the best chance to score in transition with matchups.

Offensively, Florida State has historically run a motion offense that relied heavily on its bigs to score or distribute but with his current personnel, Hamilton has had to change to a more motion-based system that relies on his perimeter players to score for the Seminoles. Guards represent five of the top seven scorers for the Seminoles. That said, every player on the floor will be 6'5 or taller. Three starting guards score in double figures so Pedulla, Collins and Cattoor all have their hands full.

Seminoles Backcourt (Starters in Bold)
Matthew Cleveland
35 SO G 6-7 200
Atlanta, GA Pace Academy 22 (2021)
14.2 Pts, 7.7 Reb, 1.8 Ast

Darin Green
22 JR G 6-5 180
Charlotte, NC Wharton (FL)
13.6 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 1.9 Ast

Caleb Mills
4 JR G 6-5 180
Arden, NC T.C. Roberson HS
13.2 Pts, 3.1 Reb, 3.5 Ast

Jalen Warley
1 SO G 6-6 200
Mt. Airy, PA Westtown School 36 (2021)
6.9 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 3.3 Ast

Chandler Jackson
0 FR G 6-5 215
Memphis, TN Christian Brothers (TN) 84 (2022)
3.3 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 1.3 Ast

Seminoles Frontcourt
Cameron Corhen
3 FR F 6-10 225
Allen, TX John Paul II (TX); Sunrise Christian (KS) 98 (2022)
8.3 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 0.5 Ast

Naheem McLeod
24 SO C 7-4 248
Philadelphia, PA Plymouth Whitemarsh (PA)
4.0 Pts, 2.7 Reb, 0.2 Ast

Baba Miller
11 FR F 6-11 204
Mallorca, Spain Real Madrid (Spain)
4.2 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 0.8 Ast

Out for Season
Cam'Ron Fletcher
21 JR F 6-6 215
St Louis, MO Vashion HS 52 (2020)
10.8 Pts, 7.5 Reb, 1.1 Ast

What to expect from Florida State?
The Seminoles will have several options in this game. I believe they will come out playing their normal game, working inside out to get perimeter shots and getting good looks while creating transition basket opportunities. This is a long fast twitch opponent when Cleveland and Green are on the floor together. Corhen and Mcleod slows the post transition down somewhat but makes up with it by deterring or adjusting opponents shots up and down the lane on defense.

The Seminoles will look to just runnnnn the Hokies out of the gym, since Florida State regularly plays 9 or 10 deep and could force the Hokies to adjust their game plan accordingly. Hamilton's guys go fast even in this down year. Probably why Vegas has the O/U at 150 points. FSU opponents scored 75 points or more in their last ten games. Opponents scored 80 or more in six of those ten games.

The biggest challenge will be scoring in the paint. The Hokies are already challenged at making two foot baskets and FSU excels at blocking shots. This team averages 3.9 blocks per game so the Hokies must find ways to avoid having their shot swatted while still scoring inside.

The biggest way to counteract this is turning Florida State over and hitting threes. The Seminoles average 12.2 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. Opponents are shooting 40% from the perimeter in ACC play, averaging nearly 30 points per contest.

The Hokies

Tech needs to be ready to keep a high paced tempo the entire game without letting up if they want to win this matchup. They have to be able to get a high number of transition baskets by forcing Florida State into turnovers.

Tech will have a tough time winning the lane, so it has to be able to hit its jumpers, especially critical is hitting its perimeter shots. Tech likely needs to shoot better than 40% from outside to be a factor in this game.

Tech has to still make an attempt at getting to the basket with Mutts and Basile. This could also be a good game to utilize Poteat's strength in the post. If they forego working the ball inside than the Seminoles will be able to ignore the inside and focus solely on the perimeter. The Hokies dearly need clean looks today to stay in this game.

Highlight in Loserville
GETTING that W

In Closing

Ideally the Hokies would just keep running but I think with how well Florida State uses their bench and how limited Tech's bench is, it will require them to strategically slow the game at points. 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 if they are able to develop a lead. The deeper into the shot clocks Tech can take Florida State, the better as they just aren't geared to play half court ball.

Rodney Rice driving and Poteat being physical inside should be important factors but I have given up trying to understand this staff's game-by-game strategy decisions. These two aspects would loosen up the perimeter defense to get the other guards and Basile clean looks from outside.

Tech has to use its speed and athleticism. They have to find open looks and they have to be able to hit those shots. Defensively they have to be able to limit the number of attempts Florida State gets either by forcing turnovers or bad shots. Do these things and it's a close game.

B-Roc with 🧊 in his veins 😮‍💨💰 Game-winning FT last night from our future Hokie!🫡🦃 @b_roc0 pic.twitter.com/YhStkksjbv— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) March 2, 2023