FSU Preview

Just two days after the Drew-Gate story broke, Carolina has to jump back on the horse and take on Florida State in Chapel Hill.  Dexter Strickland will likely pick up the slack at the point when Kendall Marshall needs a breather, while also getting minutes at the off-guard spot.  Strickland got some burn as the back-up PG last season, and there were moments of brilliance mixed with moments of total disaster, as he netted a 1.15 A/TO ratio in 2009-10.  


Results from the last 5 meetings:


2/24/2010: FSU (home) 77 - 67 Carolina
3/14/2010: FSU 73 - 70 Carolina (ACC Tournament)
1/28/2010: Carolina 80 - 77 FSU (home)
3/14/2009: Carolina 82 - 70 FSU (ACC Tournament)
3/4/2009: Carolina (home) 90 - 77 FSU 


Carolina wins if.....


1.  The rebound battle is won.  Florida State is 9th in the nation in total rebounds per game at 40.6.  Carolina is 1st in the nation, grabbing 42.4 rebounds per game as a team.  The winner of the rebound battle will likely take the game.
2.  Roy uses his timeouts efficiently.  Roy Williams is notorious for holding onto timeouts and letting his team play through bad spells during games.  But, his only true point guard hasn't seen more than 24 minutes in any game this season, and those timeouts will needed to give Kendall extra breathers tomorrow night.  Kendall will likely get 30+ minutes, and using timeouts efficiently will be key.
3.  Florida State is held to under 40% shooting from the field.  Florida State is currently sitting at 6-2 in the ACC, and only one of those wins has come when they shot under 40% as a team.  Against Miami, Florida State shot 32%, but won 55-53 in Tallahassee.  The other five ACC wins have come when Florida State shot over 40% from the field.  Meanwhile, in both conference losses, the Seminoles shot 36% against Virginia Tech, and 33% against Clemson. 
4.  John Henson can stay out of foul trouble.  Chris Singleton is a stud, and is likely a first rounder in this summer's NBA Draft.  Henson has played great defense this season, shutting down players like Terrence Jones and CJ Leslie.  If Henson can stay on the floor, his length will be huge against a high-caliber player like Singleton.


Prediction: Carolina 81 - 67 FSU.  Carolina has been rolling lately, winning 9 of 10.  Florida State is coming off a big win v. Wake Forest, though they scored just 44 points at Clemson five days earlier. The Seminoles are also 1-2 on the road in ACC play, while Carolina is undefeated at home this season.  Having Kendall Marshall on the floor for extended minutes will ignite the offense, and Carolina goes to 7-1 in the ACC before taking on Duke on Feb. 9th.