FSU basketball: 3 keys to ‘Noles victory over Miami Hurricanes

No. 9 FSU basketball will be looking for their ninth consecutive win. Here’s three keys to making it happen against the Miami Hurricanes.

FSU basketball (15-2, 5-1 ACC) is coming off a scrappy win over defending national champion Virginia in front of over 10,000 fans inside the Tucker Center.

This team just keeps finding ways to win with different players stepping up each game. They find themselves tied for first in the ACC with the likes of Duke and Louisville.

Of course, the Noles have already beat the brakes off Louisville a few games back and will have to face them again along with a road game against Duke.

However, they must take care of business first with arch rival Miami (10-6, 2-4 ACC) in a game they are six point betting favorites.

Three Keys To Victory

• Take Good Shot Offensively
• Play Defense Consistently
• Limit Turnovers

A byproduct of playing a team like Virginia is they slow the game down so much they get you out of sync offensively and force you to take bad shots. Miami doesn’t play anywhere near the slow pace that Virginia does. In fact, they are quite the opposite as the average 72 points per game. The Noles settled for too many jump shots last time out. I’d like to see them attack the rim at every opportunity and then kick out to the perimeter for open three-point shots. If they get to the rim and get fouled they are fairly consistent at the charity strip and Miami isn’t a team with great depth.

FSU basketball is known for their defensive ability as they average nearly 10 steals and six blocks per game. However, Virginia was able to get to the rim entirely too easy Wednesday night. In fact, nearly 80 percent of their shots made came from inside the paint. Miami doesn’t shoot it particularly well but they don’t turn it over a ton at just 11 turnovers per game. The Noles need to pressure them into bad shots and crash the defensive boards to limit their offensive opportunities.

FSU does a decent job of taking care of the ball but they need to limit turnovers against Miami as they are adapted at creating them while averaging six steals per game themselves. They also average nearly four blocks per game. Miami will look to run off turnovers created to score in transition. They had way too many careless possessions against Virginia who is a very good defensive team.

Thoughts

FSU basketball has been in this position all year it seems, taking on a team that it should beat but always wondering if it’s going to be the game they have a letdown.

The good news is FSU has been consistently good with different players stepping up at key moments. This is a game they should win as they have played Miami really well the last few matchups.