Welcome to crunch time. The Seminoles (19-8, 9-4) have spent most of the conference season projected on the right side of the Tournament bubble, but after star Chris Singleton went down with a foot injury the Noles chances of a 3rd straight trip are hinging on how well they play without him. In their first test they smothered a bad Wake Forest team, but then at Maryland the defense was exposed in a 16 point loss. Now they return home to take on a Miami team (17-11, 5-8) which is better than they were the last time these two teams met. Then, the Hurricanes were headed for a 1-6 start in conference play, but have since gone 5-2 (one win coming in OOC play). In the ACC the Hurricanes have averaged 1.05 points per possession, which is good for 5th, but their defense has let them down by surrenduring 1.08 per trip. In their past six conference games they are winning due to improved defense, cutting their efficiency down to 1.03 per possession.
I previewed the Miami program the first time we played.
A win would keep FSU with at least a one game lead over 4th place Virginia Tech, who hosts Duke tonight. The Seminoles are 6-0 at home in conference play. Vegas has the Noles favored by 6.5, and Pomeroy has FSU -6. The game tips at 2pm on RayCom and ESPN3.
The 1972 team (minus Reggie Royals who passed away last year) will be attendance. They will take part in a halftime ceremony where they will be recieving rings in honor of advancing to the Final 4, where they eventually lost in the Championship game to UCLA. They remain the only FSU team to ever reach the Final 4.