Florida State @ Georgia Tech preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 2, 2019 ) Georgia Tech 49, Florida State 59

No. 19 Florida State dropped four of its first five ACC games but has made up for it since, winning six games in a row and entering Saturday’s visit to struggling Georgia Tech just one victory shy of reaching 20 victories for the season. It’s been a strong 2 ½ weeks for the Seminoles who, after looking lost following a Jan. 20 defeat to Boston College dropped them to 1-4 in league play, rolled to an 88-66 home victory Wednesday over Wake Forest as 7-4 center Christ Koumadje dominated.

The senior scored a season-high 20 points with a career-best 12 rebounds in just 24 minutes, shooting 10-of-12 from the field in sparking the Seminoles to their biggest ACC victory of the season. “The coaches demand energy from me,” Koumadje told the media after recording his first double-double of the season. “Coming out, I was trying to be aggressive.” The Yellow Jackets dropped their sixth consecutive game Wednesday, falling 76-68 at Virginia Tech, but there were encouraging signs as Georgia Tech had scored fewer than 50 points in its previous three games and knocked down 11 3-pointers against the Hokies. “We’re getting closer to it,” Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner told reporters afterward. “We’ve just got to keep staying the course.”

TV: 2 p.m. ET, Raycom Sports

ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (19-5, 7-4 ACC): Sophomore forward Mfiondu Kabengele scored nine points with seven rebounds Wednesday and enters the weekend leading the Seminoles in scoring at 13.4 points per game, shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. Wednesday was about as good as it could get for the Seminoles, who shot 56.5 percent from the floor and got 41 points from their bench as 13 different players scored. Junior guard Trent Forrest ranks second in the ACC and 27th in the country in steals per game (2.22), and eighth in the league in assists per contest (4.1).

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH (11-14, 3-9): Freshman guard Michael Devoe finally has shaken off a preseason toe injury and has taken off recently, setting a career-high in scoring with 22 points Wednesday, and in his past two games is 8-of-12 from 3-point range along with 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Both Devoe and junior forward James Banks III are 12-of-24 from the field in the past two games with Banks averaging 12.3 points and 9.3 rebounds with 13 blocked shots across his last three contests. The Yellow Jackets are third in the conference and 14th nationally in field-goal percentage defense (39.2 percent).

TIP-INS

1. Banks leads Georgia Tech in league play in scoring (12.3 points per game) and rebounding (6.5 per contest), shooting 53.7 percent from the field.

2. The Seminoles are riding their longest ACC winning streak since 2011-12.

3. Kabengele and Terance Mann each scored 12 points as Florida State downed Georgia Tech 59-49 on Feb. 2 in Tallahassee.

PREDICTION: Florida State 71, Georgia Tech 63