Two of the ACC’s worst teams early on will square off at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Tuesday night as Florida State plays host to Virginia Tech. The Seminoles lost at Mississippi State 62-55 their last time out while Virginia Tech hung tough, but fell at home to Syracuse in its ACC opener, 68-66. Both teams come in with an overall record of 8-6 and a conference record of 0-1.
One of the few bright spots for Florida State in Starkville was junior guard Devon Bookert, who led the team with 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting. Bookert now ranks third on the team in scoring behind Xavier Rathan-Mayes and leading scorer Montay Brandon.
Brandon is averaging just shy of 14 points-per-game while Xavier Rathan-Mayes is averaging nearly 12 points to go with a team-high 4.8 assists-per-game. Brandon also leads the team in rebounding, minutes played and ranks second on the squad, shooting 59 percent from the field.
Virginia Tech has been very efficient from the field early on this season, but has struggled on the glass. It will be facing a FSU team that plays three 7-footers.
The Hokies have been led early on by freshman guard Justin Bibbs. Shooting better than 50 percent from the field and 48 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, Bibbs is averaging just shy of 13 points-per-game.
Junior guard Adam Smith leads Virginia Tech with 29 3-pointers made on the season. Smith is averaging just shy of 12 points-per-game while junior forward Joey Van Zegeren has been perhaps the team’s best all-around player.
Van Zegeren leads the team in rebounding, grabbing 5.3 per game while shooting a team-best 60 percent from the field. His 9.8 points-per-game average ranks third on the team.
In last season’s match-up at the Tucker Center, the Seminoles got the better of Virginia Tech in a 70-50 victory. Aaron Thomas paced FSU with 24 points as Florida State held the Hokies to just 34 percent shooting.
Tuesday’s contest is slated to tip off after 7:00 P.M. eastern time. The game will air live on the Raycom Sports Network.
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