Virginia fell short of a major NCAA Tournament resume booster in Wednesday’s loss to No. 7 Duke.
And Saturday afternoon, the Cavaliers (17-11, 11-7 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have lost two of their past three, can’t afford another setback when they host Florida State (14-13, 7-10) in Charlottesville, Va.
The Cavaliers had a chance to sweep the season series against Duke after beating the Blue Devils in Durham, N.C., on Feb. 7.
But, despite Kihei Clark’s 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds, Virginia was unable to replicate the same defensive effort it had in the first meeting. Rather than taking the ball away via turnover 20 times, as in the first meeting, Virginia could force only eight turnovers and was unable to produce in key possessions down the stretch.
“I thought we got some good looks and all that, but you know, we had some trouble finishing around the basket and just some key plays here and there that were costly,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said.
The slumping Seminoles, meanwhile, have dropped eight of their past nine games, including four to teams that are behind them in the ACC standings.
Florida State got one of its starters back in its most recent game when point guard RayQuan Evans (knee) returned Monday night at Boston College. But the Seminoles, still missing three starters from their season-opening lineup, committed a season-worst 19 turnovers and shot just 33.9 percent from the field during another double-digit loss, 71-55.
Matthew Cleveland scored 18 points — his sixth consecutive game in double figures — and Cam’Ron Fletcher scored 16 as they continued to be bright spots for the short-handed Seminoles.
“There were times when I thought we played extremely hard, but I also thought that we were not consistent with our execution offensively or defensively,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. “When you’re in the ACC, especially if you go on the road, you’ve got to expect a team to be at their best.”
This is the Seminoles’ first visit to Virginia since their 61-56 loss on Jan. 28, 2020.
–Field Level Media