Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
The (12-3 SU, 5-10 ATS) Virginia Cavaliers will pay a visit to the (5-12 SU, 7-10 ATS) Florida State Seminoles on Saturday for an Atlantic Coast Conference clash at Donald L. Tucker Center. The Cavs, 4-2 in ACC competition, defeated North Carolina on Tuesday night. The Seminoles, 3-3 in conference play, lost to Wake Forest on Wednesday.
UVA beat FSU 62-57 earlier this season at home in its ACC opener. The Seminoles led 22-21 at halftime, but the Cavaliers rallied in the second half to win. Florida State holds a narrow 28-27 advantage in the series.
Tip-off from Tallahassee, FL, is at 4:00 p.m. ET.
The Cavaliers are one of the country's elite teams and have proven that through their first 15 games. With wins over Baylor, Illinois, Michigan, and North Carolina, Virginia has assembled a solid resume thus far, even if it missed opportunities against Houston and Miami. Picked to finish third in the ACC preseason poll (with six first-place votes), the Cavs are 9-0 against Quad 2, 3, and 4 teams.
Virginia took down the defending national champion Tar Heels at home in its last game, pulling away down the stretch. UVA outshot UNC, hitting 24-of-52 field goal attempts. It was held under 32 percent from three, though, and shot just 57.9 percent at the foul line. Virginia lost the rebounding battle but committed five fewer turnovers than North Carolina.
Broadcast highlights from last night's win vs. UNC!
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— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) January 11, 2023
The Cavaliers score 69.7 points per game and shoot 45.8 percent from the field, including 37.6 percent from long range, the 49th-highest 3PT% in the nation. UVA is 25th nationally in schedule-adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom.
The Cavs rely on seven players scoring six or more points per game. The key players to watch when UVA takes the floor are senior guard Armaan Franklin (11.4 PPG and 4.1 RPG), senior guard Kihei Clark (11.1 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 1.5 SPG), senior forward Jayden Gardner (10.7 PPG and 5.0 RPG), and junior guard Reece Beekman (10.0 PPG and 5.0 RPG).
Virginia surrenders only 59.5 points per game (16th-fewest) on 40.3 percent shooting, including 34.6 percent from three-point range. Its schedule-adjusted defensive efficiency is 18th-best, and its assist-per-turnover ratio (1.65) is 3rd-best.