FSU basketball faces Virginia Tech on the road

After having just 48 hours to prepare for a road trip to Boston College following a double OT thriller against Syracuse, the Seminoles have now had five days to get ready for Virginia Tech (13-5, 2-3). That’s the good news. The bad news is that it another road game, and in the ACC, the home team has a winning percentage a bit north of 72%.

Virgina Tech is now in their 4th season with Buzz Williams at the helm. To date, they have one NCAA Tournament game to show for it (last year’s opening round loss to Wisconsin). This year, like FSU, the Hokies are struggling on the bubble.

They played one of the weakest non-conference schedules imaginable (342nd nationally) and picked up two wins against teams barely in the top 100. They had one pretty bad loss (St. Louis on a neutral floor), and they lost at Kentucky in their sole chance to pick up a signature win.

In ACC play, they’ve won when favored, and lost when not.

Junior Ahmed Hill is having a great year, knocking down 49% of his 3s and scoring 15.3 per game.

Big man Kerry Blackshear Jr scores 13.6 per game to go along with 6.1 rebounds. The 6-10 junior is dangerous on the offensive glass, and draws a ton of fouls.

Senior Justin Bibbs (13.3 per game) is having his worst season from beyond the arc (37%), but he’s still 43% for his career.

Freshman Nickeil Alexander-Walker is the only underclassman who earns real minutes, and the 6-5 wing is scoring 11.9 per game and hitting on 40% of his 3s.

Point guard Justin Robinson has the 4th best assist rate in the ACC and scores 11.4 per game.

They are the best shooting 3-pt team in the ACC (40%), but they’re not completely reliant on the 3-ball. The reason is that they also have the best 2-pt% in the ACC, and are 5th nationally. Their offense is similar to Florida State’s in that it’s built to create shots at the rim.

They’re a better shooting team than FSU, but aren’t great on the offensive glass,

On defense, their lack of size really hurts. Buzz Williams’ teams have never forced a ton of turnovers, but now they’re giving up too many uncontested looks as well. In ACC play, FSU’s defense has really struggled, but the Hokies has actually been worse.

The game tips at noon and will be broadcast on ESPN2. FSU is a 2-point underdog.