Florida State men’s basketball (17-14, 10-8) begins its ACC tournament against Cal (21-10, 9-9) in the Spectrum Center in Charlotte tonight, starting the daunting task of winning four games in four days in search of the program’s second-ever conference tournament title.
The Seminoles defeated the Golden Bears earlier in the season, 63-61, in a late-January matchup that helped spark FSU’s dominant six weeks down the stretch. Chauncey Wiggins led the way with 18 points on 7-9 shooting from the floor
while Florida State held Cal to 34% from the field. However, the Golden Bears were short-handed in that game and will have forward Lee Dort back for tonight’s contest.
Florida State is playing some of its best basketball of the season and finished the year on a three-game winning streak, including a double-digit win on Senior Day against SMU last Saturday. If Luke Loucks’ team defeats Cal, the Seminoles would face Duke tomorrow night in the ACC tournament quarterfinal.
Over the weekend, the Seminoles collected some hardware and broke a few records. Guard Robert McCray V was named All-ACC third-team and Loucks finished fourth in ACC Coach of the Year voting. Florida State men’s basketball also broke the program record for most threes made and the highest offensive efficiency in a season.
Florida State is listed as a 3.5-point favorite over Cal according to FanDuel, with the over/under set at 152.5
Florida State Seminoles vs. Cal Golden Bears: How to watch, stream, odds
Date
- Wednesday, March 11th
Time
- 7 p.m. ET
Watch/Stream
- Channel: ESPNU
- Stream: WatchESPN/ESPN App
Listen
- Seminoles Radio Network
- FSU Broadcast: Ch. 371/SXM App
Spread
- -3.5, Florida State
Over/Under
Notes to know:
- Tonight’s game should boil down to winning the margins on two things: three-point shots and rebounding. Cal finished dead last in the ACC in offensive rebounds per game and third to last in opponent rebounds per game. However, the Golden Bears finished in the top four in the conference in three-point percentage and opponent three-point percentage. On the flip side, the Noles finished towards the bottom of the ACC in those two three-point statistics, but rank sixth in the conference in offensive rebounds per game. If this game turns into a shootout, FSU will be in trouble, but if the Noles can run Cal off the line and make them go one-and-done, they have a great chance to win.
- Cal is two different teams when they play at home and when they go on the road. The Golden Bears went 16-4 at home this season but only 4-7 away from home. Luckily for them, they played Saturday against Wake Forest and did not have to play across the country before the tournament, but it is always difficult for the West Coast teams on the East Coast.
Players to know:
- G Dai Dai Ames: Ames, also named to the All-ACC third-team, led Cal in almost all major categories, including points per game (16.9), minutes (31.9), and free-throw percentage (87%). However, in the previous matchup between the sides, FSU held Ames to only 11 points on 5-15 shooting without a trip to the free-throw line. The junior should get his, but making him work for it and rendering him inefficient should be the goal for the Noles.
- G Justin Pippen: The son of NBA great Scottie Pippen, Justin torched the Seminoles for 19 points on 4-9 shooting from three as he willed the Golden Bears back into the game earlier this season. However, even though Pippen is second on the team in scoring (14.2), he has struggled in his last three games, including being held scoreless against Georgia Tech.
