Five days removed from a hard fought victory over Wake Forest, the No. 10 Virginia men's basketball team looks to continue its two-game winning streak Sunday when it goes up against Florida State at 4 p.m. at University Hall.
The Cavaliers (11-2, 2-2 ACC) won both games last season over the Seminoles (9-6, 2-2), including a thriller in Tallahassee in which junior guard Roger Mason Jr. hit a three-pointer with time running out to give Virginia a narrow 69-66 victory.
The Cavaliers will need a similar performance from Mason if they hope to extend their winning streak against a vastly improved Florida State team that pulled off a huge upset against No. 1 Duke on Jan. 6.
Florida State is "a very talented team," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "Anyone who beats Duke has to be very good. We have to bring our 'A' game if we hope to win on Sunday."
With senior guard Adam Hall still sidelined with a foot injury, the Cavaliers will count on Mason, senior Chris Williams (14.5 points, 6.1 rebounds) and junior Travis Watson (13.2 points, 10.5 rebounds) to pick up the slack. Watson came up with his eighth double-double of the season against Wake and leads current ACC players in career double-doubles.
"Adam is the heart of the team," freshman Jermaine Harper said. "We know that we have to step up with him out with the injury."
More important is the role of the Cavaliers' freshmen guards. They will have to face one of the most talented point guards in the ACC.
Florida State's fifth-year senior point guard Delvon Arrington will challenge Harper and fellow freshman Keith Jenifer in the backcourt. Arrington is third in the ACC with 7.27 assists per game and, more importantly, he doesn't turn the ball over. He is fourth in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio.
The Seminoles will turn to Army veteran Monte Cummings for scoring in the low blocks. At 14.9 points a game, Cummings leads the team in scoring and will be helped out by fellow forwards Antwuan Dixon and Michael Joiner. The Seminoles' starting lineup is rounded out - literally - by 6-foot-10, 350-pound Nigel Dixon, who is affectionately known as "Big Jelly."
"We are going to have to play hard and full of intensity," Williams said. "They have some good players, and we can't just come out expecting to win the game."
Despite being second in the conference in field goal percentage defense (.392), the Cavaliers had struggled at the defensive end before a surge of intensity turned the defense around nine minutes into the win over Wake Forest.
Virginia will have to come out fired up. It has fallen behind early in every ACC game this season. If it happens again this Sunday, the Cavaliers might not be able to stop a surging Florida State team that has swept its home series with Duke and North Carolina for the first time ever.
"We can't be content with just one game," Mason said after the Wake Forest victory. "We want to show everyone what we can do, so we can't afford to take it easy against any team in the ACC"
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