The #9 seeded Florida State Seminoles 18-12 (9-9) and the #8 seeded Maryland Terrapins 17-14 (9-9) will be featured in the second round of the ACC tournament at 12:00pm est, on Thursday. The two teams have squared off two times this season and both won at their respective home courts. Maryland currently holds the series lead against Florida State in the ACC tournament with a record of 4-0.
The January 12th ACC conference game earlier this season featured the two teams searching for their offense identity and competing for a crucial ACC victory. Following a season low of 56 points scored in a win against Clemson, the last thing Seminole fans expected was a breakout shooting night at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee. According to ESPN, the Seminoles went on to shoot 16-24 (67%) from the arc, while the Terrapins only shot 17-51 from the field (33%). Ian Miller led the scoring with 20 points and gave the Seminoles a crucial victory early in the ACC season 85-61.The second time, these two teams met was at the Comcast Center. The Terrapins 14-10 (6-5) and Seminoles 14-9 (5-6) were both looking to keep pace in the ACC where Seth Allen recorded his career high of 32 points, 21 of which he scored in the first half. According to ESPN, Allen went 11 of 15 from the floor, and 7 of 10 from the three point arc. Leading 46-29 at halftime, the Terrapins never looked back and defeated the Seminoles by 12, 83-71.
The season ended for both teams with very different endings to their regular season. Maryland won an absolute thriller against the regular season champions, Virginia, in overtime 75-69. The sellout crowd at the Comcast Center seemed to get to the Cavaliers, Virginia only shot 37% from the field and 28% from the arc. This victory against a top 5 team in the nation should give the Terrapins a lot of momentum heading into the ACC tournament.
The Seminoles had a lot more to play for last Sunday. According to Joe Lunardi, the Seminoles were going to be the first four out to make the NCAA tournament. They were heading in to their biggest game of the season against the top ten ranked team, Syracuse, only to be overpowered and out rebounded by a much stronger and more determined team on their senior night.
This Thursday, FSU and Maryland will face off for the last time in the ACC while Maryland heads to the Big Ten. The winner will play against the top ranked and ACC regular champion, Virginia, on Friday at noon. FSU has fallen twice, while Maryland (1-1) ended Virginia's winning streak last Sunday. The Seminoles have struggled on the boards with Boris Bojanovsky and Michael Ojo whom both seem to lack the experience needed to become a significant presence inside. The key for the Seminoles on Thursday will be to play a strong defense and work quick in their transition offence as well as to knock down perimeter shots as they did in January.
References
I do not own any of the videos shows by ACC Digital Network or any pictures by docsports and gamedayr and http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/52/florida-state-seminoles
Edited by: Heather Ahles
Good analysis. Ian Miller could be the difference maker if he has fully recovered from his ankle injury. Noles need him to get hot. They hung with Syracuse for a good part of the game but couldn't finish. They will need some wins in the ACC tournament to have any chance to make the NCAA tournament.
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