After a successful trip to Atlanta resulting in a win over Georgia Tech, Florida State will try to even its ACC record as it plays host to Boston College at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Wednesday night.
Florida State enters the contest with a record of 14-12 overall and 6-7 in ACC play. The Seminoles finished Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech on a 9-0 run to walk away with a 57-53 victory. Boston College fell to Miami in double-overtime on Monday after the contest was postponed from Sunday night due to weather. The Eagles come in just 9-15 overall and an ACC-worst 1-11 in conference play.
Key Players for Boston College
- Olivier Hanlan (Jr.-G): 18.1 PPG, 4.5 APG, 45 FG%
- Aaron Brown (Sr.-F): 14.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.9 APG
- Patrick Heckmann (Sr.-G): 8.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.6 APG
Key Players for Florida State
- Xavier Rathan-Mayes (Fr.-G): 13.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 4.5 APG
- Montay Brandon (Jr.-G/F): 12.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 55% FG
- Devon Bookert (Jr.-G): 10.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 42% 3PT
For Boston College to pull off the upset in Tallahassee, it will rely heavily on its guards. Junior Olivier Hanlan continues to be one of the more prolific scorers in the ACC while senior Patrick Heckmann has done just about everything this season for the Eagles.
Florida State’s guard tandem of Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Devon Bookert is a duo that handles the ball very well. After Bookert scored a career-high 23 points against Duke last week, Rathan-Mayes led FSU with 20 points in Saturday’s victory over Georgia Tech. Bookert has 6 assists in each of his last two games while Rathan-Mayes is on pace for the highest assists-per-game average for a Seminole since Delvon Arrington 13 years ago.
Florida State’s big men have been inconsistent, but could hold a huge advantage on Wednesday night as Boston College ranks in the bottom 50 of the country in rebounding. 6’9″ sophomore forward Jarquez Smith has come on of late for the Seminoles, averaging 13 points on a combined 11-for-15 shooting over his last two games.
Junior center Dennis Clifford leads Boston College with 5.1 rebounds-per-game and 26 blocked shots on the season. At 7’1″, Clifford will be facing a Florida State lineup that plays three 7-footers.
Florida State has won the last two games in the series, but the last three have been decided by four points or less. The Seminoles defeated the Eagles in Chestnut Hill 74-70 last season behind 50 combined points from Aaron Thomas and Okaro White.
Wednesday’s contest will begin after 9:00 P.M. eastern time and will air on the ACC Network.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
