Miami @ Florida State preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 18, 2020 ) Florida State 83, Miami-Florida 79

Rivals Miami and Florida State are heading in different directions as they get ready to battle in Tallahassee on Saturday. The eighth-ranked Seminoles have won 12 of their last 13 games, including rallying to take the first meeting 83-79 in overtime on Jan. 18, while the Hurricanes have stumbled since ACC play began, losing eight of their last 10.

Miami's woes have been exacerbated by the recent absence of arguably its top two players as junior guard Chris Lykes (groin), the team's leading scorer, has missed the last four games and redshirt junior guard Kameron McGusty (back spasms) has been out three of the last four, leaving the short-handed Hurricanes to rely heavily on freshmen Harlond Beverly, Isaiah Wong and Anthony Walker. Not helping matters, center Rodney Miller Jr. left the Hurricanes' last contest, an 83-72 loss to North Carolina State, with a left ankle injury. But while Miami continues to flounder with a thin roster -- the team has had eight or fewer healthy scholarship players in its last nine games -- the Seminoles are surging with an athletic, well-balanced team that often goes 10 deep. That depth helped the Seminoles overcome an off night from leading scorer Devin Vassell last time out as the sophomore guard scored just six points to halt a string of eight straight double-digit scoring performances in a 65-59 victory over North Carolina on Monday.

TIME: Noon ET. TV: ACC Network

ABOUT MIAMI (11-11, 3-9 ACC): The offense would get a boost if Lykes and McGusty return against the Seminoles, which is a possibility, according to coach Jim Larranaga, who said, "They're not 100 percent, but getting closer." Still, the freshmen have been flashing their potential in their absence, with Beverly coming up with a career performance in helping the Hurricanes try to rally from an 18-point second-half deficit against NC State as he posted 20 points to become the first Miami freshman with a 20-point game since Lonnie Walker IV against Florida State in January 2018. Wong has also showed a hot hand, averaging a team-best 14 points in four starts, hitting double digits in each contest while shooting 53.1 percent (17-of-32) from the floor and 50.0 percent (6-of-12) from deep.

ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (19-3, 9-2): While Vassell didn't put up the big point total against North Carolina, he still pulled down nine boards to tie Seminoles reserve Patrick Williams (nine) for game high while adding to his team-best season average, which now stands at 5.3 rebounds per game. Williams and Trent Forrest, the team's second-leading scorer (11.4), each posted 14 points in the win, with RaiQuan Gray coming through in the second half with 10 of his 12 points. Forrest has at least one steal in each of the last nine games and, with 205 for his career, he's just the sixth player in school history with 200 thefts.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. With the overtime victory three weeks ago, Florida State has now won the last four meetings with Miami and the Seminoles own a 48-36 series advantage.

2. Beverly is just 2-of-13 from 3-point range over the last two games and 4-of-27 since the calendar turned over to 2020.

3. Senior G DJ Vasiljevic, Miami's second-leading scorer (14.4 per game), is 22 points away from 1,200 for his career.

PREDICTION: Florida State 83, Miami 77