Mike Olivella
Noles and Canes Renew Hardwood Rivalry
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) – Another chapter in the Florida State-Miami rivalry takes place Thursday night at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla. The No. 7 Seminoles (12-1, 0-0) and No. 11 Hurricanes (11-1, 0-0) square off as AP Top 25 opponents for the seventh time in series history, including the fourth consecutive meeting.
The 7 p.m. tip-off will be live streamed on the ACC Network Extra, as Joe Zagacki and Megan Perry provide the commentary for the video stream. As always, every FSU Women’s Basketball contest is also carried for free via audio on the Seminole Gameday App as well as locally on WQTL 106.1 FM. Jonathan Schillaceand Melissa Bruner will be on the call for the matchup.
Florida State and Miami each enter Thursday’s game with 11-game win streaks. They are currently the seventh-longest active win streaks in the nation. The Seminoles are working on a four-game win streak against the Hurricanes on the road. A win on Thursday would tie for the longest road win streak at Miami by FSU, which won five straight against its in-state rival from Jan. 20, 1978-Dec. 12, 1981.
As ranked opponents, FSU holds a 4-2 advantage over Miami. The other ranked matchups between the two teams include: Jan. 24, 2010 (#15 FSU 66, #22 Miami 59 in Tallahassee), Feb. 24, 2010 (#14 Miami 84, #9 FSU 68 in Miami), Jan. 13, 2013 (#18 FSU 86, #24 Miami 55 in Tallahassee), Jan. 24, 2016 (#14 FSU 69, #16 Miami 58 in Miami), Feb. 28, 2016 (#12 FSU 70, #17 Miami 67 in Tallahassee) and March 4, 2016 (#21 Miami 74, #14 FSU 56 in Greensboro).
FSU’s current 11-game win streak ties for the second-longest in program history with the 2015-16 team’s 11 consecutive wins (all in ACC play). The Seminoles are on the cusp of tying the program win streak record of 12 straight games in the 2004-05 season.
Both teams appear to be reaching peak form throughout their program’s history. Thursday’s matchup includes the highest AP Top 25 ranking by both teams when playing each other.
In five career games against Miami, senior point guard Leticia Romero has seized the moment. The Las Palmas, Spain, native is averaging 16.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and shooting 60.9 percent (28-of-46) vs. the Hurricanes. She has led FSU in scoring in each of the past three games against Miami.
In FSU’s two wins during its last week of play against North Florida (W, 95-39) and Mercer (W, 83-40), Romero was tremendous. She finished 15-of-19 (78.9 percent) from the floor and averaged 19.5 points per game, scoring 22 vs. UNF and making a career-best five 3-point field goals at Mercer.
The Seminoles are 10-15 all-time in ACC openers, but have won seven of their last 10 ACC-opening matchups. FSU plays on the road in an ACC opener for the fourth straight season after playing at Pittsburgh in 2014 (W, 78-69), Notre Dame in 2015 (L, 68-74) and Louisville in 2016 (L, 69-79). Since Miami joined the ACC in the 2004-05 academic year, both teams have never played each other in an ACC opener.
FSU leads the all-time series against the Hurricanes, 39-13. Following Thursday’s game, FSU hosts NC State on Monday, Jan. 2, at 7 p.m. at the Donald L. Tucker Center for its ACC home opener.
Publicado en: http://www.seminoles.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=32900&ATCLID=211379595
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario