Florida State @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 9, 2019 ) Miami-Florida 62, Florida State 68

Miami and Florida State meet up for the second time in three weeks, this time on Sunday in South Florida after the Seminoles held on for a 68-62 triumph over the Hurricanes on Jan. 9 at home. The Seminoles went on to lose their next three to fall to No. 23 in the rankings but they got back on track with a 77-68 win over Clemson on Tuesday, while the Hurricanes continue to falter with five losses in their last six games.

"I thought our guys showed a lot of determination trying to bounce back from a couple disappointing losses on the road," Seminoles head coach Leonard Hamilton told reporters. "This was a very important victory for us to stop the bleeding." They also needed the win to have a chance at remaining in the rankings after they were in danger of dropping out, plummeting from their high of No. 9, but now they head on the road where they have lost their last three to Virginia (65-52), Pitt (75-62) and Boston College (87-82). The Seminoles have dominated this in-state rivalry with three wins in their last four and they are in position to sweep an undermanned and inconsistent Hurricanes team. The Hurricanes, however, haven't made it easy for opponents, battling in every contest with second-half leads in 16 of 18 games, although they were completely dominated by Syracuse last time out, held to a season-low 53 points on 33.9 percent field goal shooting in a 73-53 loss.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (14-5, 2-4 ACC): After shooting a miserable 24.8 percent from long distance over their first five ACC games, the Seminoles ended their shooting slump in a big way against Clemson with seven different players hitting at least one 3-pointer and the team hitting 45.3 percent from downtown. Sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele topped the Seminoles in scoring for the third time in four games with 17 points, while senior David Nichols nailed four of his five 3-pointers and finished with 16 points. Defensively, Florida State shut down the Tigers and limited them to just 27 points in the second half, the second time this season that they held an opponent to less than 30 points after the break.

ABOUT MIAMI (9-9, 1-5): The Hurricanes couldn't get much going against Syracuse and guard DJ Vasiljevic was the only player to score in double figures (11 points) while leading scorer Chris Lykes, who had 17 points in the first meeting with Florida State, was held to single digits for only the second time this season. Vasiljevic grabbed a career-high eight rebounds and senior center Ebuka Izundu (10 rebounds) reached double figures in boards for the eighth time as Miami held a 39-27 edge on the glass against Syracuse, ending a string of five straight games that included the Florida State loss (31-38) on the short end of the rebounding battle. The Hurricanes were only 8-of-29 from 3-point range against Syracuse, which doesn't bode well against a Seminoles team that held Miami to a season-low four 3-pointers (in 18 attempts) in the first meeting.

TIP-INS

1. Florida State has a 47-35 advantage in this ACC rivalry, but Miami is 27-14 at home against the Seminoles.

2. The Hurricanes' next three games are against ranked teams (Florida State, No. 8 Virginia Tech and No. 3 Virginia).

3. The Seminoles have made at least 10 3-point shots in four games this season, all wins.

PREDICTION: Florida State 75, Miami 71