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Florida State Seminoles vs. Pittsburgh Panthers Preview and Predictions 2019-01-14
NCAAB Predictions 13th January 2019 by Gracenote
by Gracenote on 01/13/2019
No. 13 Florida State will have just a little more than 48 hours to put a heartbreaking loss to No. 2 Duke behind it before taking on a much-improved Pittsburgh team on the road Monday. The Seminoles, who lost their ACC opener at No. 1 Virginia before taking down Miami, led Duke 78-77 late before Blue Devils freshman Cam Reddish drained an open 3-pointer with less than a second remaining after the Seminoles couldn't corral missed free throw by Duke.
"You don't want to take any moral victories away," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton told reporters. "We had a chance, and we got beat by a team that played a little better than we did. ... We've got to be sure we recharge our batteries and get focused again. Because we can't go on the road now and come back without a 'W.'" Pittsburgh, which snapped a 23-game losing streak in ACC play with an 89-86 overtime victory over Louisville on Wednesday, couldn't hold a four-point lead at North Carolina State with just over six minutes left Saturday, surrendering four consecutive 3-pointers down the stretch in dropping an 86-80 decision. "I don't think we got overwhelmed," coach Jeff Capel told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I think they just made some shots and made some plays. They're a good team. They're ranked (AP) 15th in the country for a reason. They're good. They made a run, we couldn't get stops in that moment and we missed some shots. Sometimes, that happens, especially when you're on the road." N.C. State outrebounded Pitt, one of the weaker rebounding teams in the ACC, 25-14 in the second half and the Panthers committed 17 turnovers for the game to drop to 0-4 on those occasions.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU
ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (13-3, 1-2 ACC): Sophomore reserve Mfiondu Kabengele tied his career high with 24 points in just 25 minutes of action and added 10 rebounds for his third career double-double. Phil Cofer, who scored 28 at Duke last season, tallied 21 on 8-of-13 shooting with seven rebounds. On a team that has nine players average between five and 12 points, Kabengele leads in scoring at 12 points per game to go with 5.2 rebounds, while senior Terance Mann contributes 11.6 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds.
ABOUT PITTSBURGH (11-5, 1-2): Freshman guard Xavier Johnson (17.0 points, 4.9 assists) led the Panthers with a season-high 25 points, converting 8-of-12 from the field and 9-for-11 from the free-throw line, scoring 20 for the sixth time to tie a freshman school record. Fellow rookie Au'Diese Toney (10.1 points, 5.9 rebounds) added 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-2 beyond the arc, and six rebounds while sophomore Terrell Brown (5.8 points, 2.4 blocks) finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks - his fourth consecutive game with at least four blocks. A third freshman, Trey McGowens (13.4 points, 2.3 steals), who set a school freshmen record with 33 points against the Cardinals and was averaging 22.5 points on 65.3 percent shooting and 4.3 steals over his previous four games, scored just seven points on 2-of-9 shooting but added five rebounds, a season-high seven assists and one steal.
TIP-INS
1. Pitt leads the all-time series 12-4, including 7-1 at home, but the teams have split six meetings since the Panthers joined the ACC in 2012-13. Florida State won last year's matchup 88-75 as five current Seminoles scored in double figures, led by P.J. Savoy's 18 points and five 3-pointers.
2. The Panthers are 0-3 on the year against ranked opponents and have lost 13 consecutive games to teams ranked in the AP Top 25, including the last six at home.
3. A freshman has led Pitt in scoring in each of the past 12 games.
PREDICTION: Florida State 72, Pittsburgh 61
NCAAB Predictions 13th January 2019 by Gracenote
by Gracenote on 01/13/2019
No. 13 Florida State will have just a little more than 48 hours to put a heartbreaking loss to No. 2 Duke behind it before taking on a much-improved Pittsburgh team on the road Monday. The Seminoles, who lost their ACC opener at No. 1 Virginia before taking down Miami, led Duke 78-77 late before Blue Devils freshman Cam Reddish drained an open 3-pointer with less than a second remaining after the Seminoles couldn't corral missed free throw by Duke.
"You don't want to take any moral victories away," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton told reporters. "We had a chance, and we got beat by a team that played a little better than we did. ... We've got to be sure we recharge our batteries and get focused again. Because we can't go on the road now and come back without a 'W.'" Pittsburgh, which snapped a 23-game losing streak in ACC play with an 89-86 overtime victory over Louisville on Wednesday, couldn't hold a four-point lead at North Carolina State with just over six minutes left Saturday, surrendering four consecutive 3-pointers down the stretch in dropping an 86-80 decision. "I don't think we got overwhelmed," coach Jeff Capel told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I think they just made some shots and made some plays. They're a good team. They're ranked (AP) 15th in the country for a reason. They're good. They made a run, we couldn't get stops in that moment and we missed some shots. Sometimes, that happens, especially when you're on the road." N.C. State outrebounded Pitt, one of the weaker rebounding teams in the ACC, 25-14 in the second half and the Panthers committed 17 turnovers for the game to drop to 0-4 on those occasions.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU
ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (13-3, 1-2 ACC): Sophomore reserve Mfiondu Kabengele tied his career high with 24 points in just 25 minutes of action and added 10 rebounds for his third career double-double. Phil Cofer, who scored 28 at Duke last season, tallied 21 on 8-of-13 shooting with seven rebounds. On a team that has nine players average between five and 12 points, Kabengele leads in scoring at 12 points per game to go with 5.2 rebounds, while senior Terance Mann contributes 11.6 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds.
ABOUT PITTSBURGH (11-5, 1-2): Freshman guard Xavier Johnson (17.0 points, 4.9 assists) led the Panthers with a season-high 25 points, converting 8-of-12 from the field and 9-for-11 from the free-throw line, scoring 20 for the sixth time to tie a freshman school record. Fellow rookie Au'Diese Toney (10.1 points, 5.9 rebounds) added 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-2 beyond the arc, and six rebounds while sophomore Terrell Brown (5.8 points, 2.4 blocks) finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks - his fourth consecutive game with at least four blocks. A third freshman, Trey McGowens (13.4 points, 2.3 steals), who set a school freshmen record with 33 points against the Cardinals and was averaging 22.5 points on 65.3 percent shooting and 4.3 steals over his previous four games, scored just seven points on 2-of-9 shooting but added five rebounds, a season-high seven assists and one steal.
TIP-INS
1. Pitt leads the all-time series 12-4, including 7-1 at home, but the teams have split six meetings since the Panthers joined the ACC in 2012-13. Florida State won last year's matchup 88-75 as five current Seminoles scored in double figures, led by P.J. Savoy's 18 points and five 3-pointers.
2. The Panthers are 0-3 on the year against ranked opponents and have lost 13 consecutive games to teams ranked in the AP Top 25, including the last six at home.
3. A freshman has led Pitt in scoring in each of the past 12 games.
PREDICTION: Florida State 72, Pittsburgh 61
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