Virginia sits as the No. 1 seed in the ACC conference tournament despite ending their regular season with a loss to Maryland in overtime. The Cavaliers had a 13-game win streak end in the final game of the year, but the team managed to keep their No. 6 ranking. Now a favorite to win the title before heading into the NCAA tournament, Virginia must first get past Florida State on Friday.
Virginia's history in the ACC tournament is not great. The Cavaliers have not won it in 38 years. They have not reached the semifinals since 1995 and have lost 18 of their last 22 tournament games. However, Virginia is the favorite this season and hope to change their luck. The Cavaliers are hoping that their 16-win season was not merely a fluke and they can get past the history that works against them this time around.
Malcolm Brogdon will be expected to step up in March Madness. The guard is leading Virginia with 12.6 points per game and 5.6 rebounds. He was named All-ACC second team and could help himself with a solid tournament run. Virginia's defense will be on full display against Florida State. The Cavaliers held opponents to just 55.4 points per game, leading the nation. They won 12 of their games by 10 points or more.
The Seminoles intend on giving Virginia a run for their money. The team is fresh off a win over Maryland in the second round of the tournament as Boris Bojanovsky put in a last-second dunk for the win. Ian Miller had 17 points as the Seminoles fought off a late run by the Terps.
Florida State is on the bubble for the NCAA tournament and are aware just how badly they need to make a convincing run in conference play to stand a chance at getting a bid. They lost both meetings to the Cavaliers in the regular season. They averaged just 58.0 points while shooting 37.8 percent overall. They cannot afford to repeat the effort.
