No. 9 FSU hoops vs. No. 4 Virginia: How to watch, preview, game thread

The No. 9 Florida State basketball team will kick off Atlantic Coast Conference play in style today, facing the No. 4 Virginia Cavaliers in Charlottesville, VA at 3 pm. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2. FSU opened as a 9.5-point underdog.

The new year could not be getting off to much more of a varied start for the 12-1 Seminoles. On the 1st, FSU topped Winthrop, which plays at one of the fastest rates in the country. Today, in 12-0 UVA, the ’Noles will face the slowest team in the nation.

No, seriously. Out of 353 D-1 teams, the Cavaliers are No. 353 in adjusted tempo. We’ve been here before: Florida State’s lone loss this season came against Villanova, which is 349th in adjusted tempo.

As per usual, the Wahoos are extremely efficient. Adjusted for tempo, Virginia boasts the country’s No. 8 offense. It’s a three-pronged attack, with guards Kyle Guy, De’Andre Hunter, and Ty Jerome all averaging over 14 PPG. And, of course, Tony Bennett’s teams always play great defense, with this year’s squad being no exception: the ’Hoos have the No. 4 defense in the nation.

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