Written by
The Sports Network
Chestnut Hill, MA (Sports Network) - The 15th-ranked Florida State Seminoles
look to remain in first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings
tonight as they head to the Conte Forum to take on the Boston College Eagles.
This will be just the ninth meeting between the conference rivals. The series
is tied 4-4 as the Seminoles have won three straight to even it up. In last
year's meeting, Florida State won 67-51 at the Tucker Center.
The Seminoles have reeled off seven straight wins since losing their
conference opener to arrive at a 7-1 mark in conference play, tied with North
Carolina atop the standings. Florida State outlasted the nationally ranked
Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday and walked away with a 58-55 victory which made
its overall record 16-6. Head coach Leonard Hamilton's team was very active on
the defensive end of the floor for the second-straight game their last time
out, as they forced Virginia into 20 turnovers. The Seminoles have been
excellent in league action so far, as they have outscored ACC opponents by an
average of 9.2 ppg.
Michael Snaer has been the main ingredient to Florida State's success this
season. The junior guard leads the team with 13.8 ppg and has come up huge in
big spots. Snaer put the Seminoles on the nation's radar last month with a
game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer that snapped Duke's impressive 45
game home-winning streak. Bernard James is a very good contributor for Florida
State as well, as he averages 10.2 points and a team-high 8.6 rebounds per
game. Okara White and Xavier Gibson get into the mix on a regular basis as
well.
The Eagles hope a return home will help, as they are riding a six-game losing
streak into this one after they fell 51-47 to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
on Saturday. The loss to Georgia Tech made Boston College 7-16 overall and 2-7
in league play. The Eagles were held to 34.7 percent shooting from the floor
as they were held under 60 points for the fifth-straight game. Boston College
has the lowest scoring offense in ACC play as it averages just 55.4 ppg.
Conference opponents have managed to score 66.1 ppg against BC. The Eagles are
last in the league in rebounding margin, as they are being beat on the boards
by an average of 5.2 rpg.
Boston College lacks a standout player that many of its ACC rivals possess.
Matt Humphrey's 10.1 points per game, which is not in the top 25 in the
conference, is the highest on the team. Humphrey has scored 15 points in each
of his last two outings. Lonnie Jackson added 10 points in each of the same
contests. Ryan Anderson contributes 9.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while
Patrick Heckmann nets 9.1 ppg. Dennis Clifford has been a decent man in the
middle with averages of 9.3 points and 5.1 boards per game. Heckmann, Jackson,
Anderson, and Clifford are all freshmen.
The Sports Network