Virginia Cavaliers vs. Florida State Seminoles Pick & Prediction JANUARY 14th 2023

EXPERT NCAAB SPREAD Ethan Wilson

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Florida State faces a tall order trying to contain No. 13 Virginia's smallest stars when the teams meet Saturday in an Atlantic Coast Conference contest in Tallahassee, Fla.

Kihei Clark, a 5-foot-10 fifth-year senior, and 6-3 junior Reece Beekman are two of four players averaging double figures in scoring for Virginia this season at 11.1 and 10.0, respectively.

The Cavaliers (12-3, 4-2 ACC) have won four of their last five and are coming off a 65-58 home victory against North Carolina on Tuesday night.

The Seminoles (5-12, 3-3) continued their up-and-down play in the conference with a 90-75 setback at Wake Forest on Wednesday night.

Virginia won the first meeting 62-57 in Charlottesville on Dec. 3 in the ACC opener for both teams. Florida State fell to 1-9 with that defeat but has since gone 4-3.

Clark scored a game-high 18 points in that win against the Seminoles. Beekman finished with 13 points, five assists and five steals in Tuesday's win against the Tar Heels.

Virginia trailed North Carolina by seven with 15 minutes to play before deploying a smaller lineup that also included 6-4 guards Armaan Franklin (12 points, nine rebounds) and Isaac McKneely (11 points).

"We were struggling really to just shoot the ball and score in that first half and parts of the second, and then we said, 'Let's go small and take a look at a few things,' " Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett said. "And I think it just started opening things up."

Ben Vander Plas led Virginia with 17 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals off the bench. He sank three shots from behind the arc; and Virginia is 8-1 when he makes at least one 3-pointer in a game.

Florida State shot just 32.8 percent from the field in the December loss at Virginia. Darin Green scored 17 points and Matthew Cleveland had 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Seminoles.

The Seminoles shot a season-high 53.7 percent in Wednesday's loss to the Demon Deacons. Cleveland had 19 points and 12 boards for his sixth straight double-double -- the longest streak at FSU since Greg Grady in 1974-75 -- and Caleb Mills also contributed 19 points.

Wake Forest countered Florida State's hot shooting night by hitting 55.6 percent from the field and 53.8 percent (14-of-26) from long distance.

"We are not quite there yet," Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said. "We are doing some things fairly well, but we are not doing enough of them against experienced teams."

Freshman Baba Miller, a 6-11 center from Spain, made his long-awaited Seminoles debut and totaled four points and four rebounds in 17 minutes. The former Real Madrid player just completed a 16-game suspension for violating NCAA rules for receiving improper benefits.

"There is no doubt that he is going to be an outstanding player for us," Hamilton said. "But you've got to let him get his feet under him. ... The first two minutes he was out there, he was gassed."

--Field Level Media

Armaan Franklin scored 20 points to lead No. 13 Virginia to a 67-58 victory over Florida State on Saturday in Atlantic Coast Conference action in Tallahassee, Fla.

Franklin made 4 of 7 3-point attempts and the Cavaliers (13-3, 5-2 ACC) shot 50 percent from behind the arc (11 of 22) to win their third straight game. Ben Vander Plas added 15 points and Kihei Clark had nine points, six assists and five rebounds.

Matthew Cleveland had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Seminoles (5-13, 3-4), who lost for the first time in four ACC home games. It was Cleveland's seventh straight double-double, the longest streak by a Florida State player since Reggie Royals 51 years ago.

Cam Corhen scored 15 points and Caleb Mills had 14 for the Seminoles, who shot 39.6 percent (21 of 53) overall and 26.3 percent (5 of 19) from 3-point range.

Virginia extended its eight-point halftime advantage to 48-34 with 12:48 remaining. The Cavaliers took their largest lead at 56-40 on Ryan Dunn's dunk with 9:38 to play.

Florida State pulled to within 61-51 on Mills' layup with 5:09 left, but the Seminoles couldn't get the deficit below double digits until the final 30 seconds.

With the victory, the Cavaliers knotted up the all-time series with the Seminoles at 28-28.

Virginia raced to a 24-11 lead with a 21-4 run that included three 3-pointers by Vander Plas and two by Franklin.

The Cavaliers were ahead 33-25 at halftime behind 13 points from Franklin and 11 from Vander Plas.

Virginia head coach Tony Bennett needs two wins to reach 400 for his career. The Cavaliers return home to face rival Virginia Tech on Wednesday night.

Baba Miller (tonsillitis) did not play for the Seminoles. The 6-11 freshman from Spain returned from a 16-game NCAA suspension and made his debut in Wednesday's loss at Wake Forest, posting four points and four rebounds.

--Field Level Media