Cavaliers Host Florida State in Final Regular-Season Home Game

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CHARLOTTESVILLE-The Virginia men’s basketball team plays its final home game of the 2011-12 regular season on Thursday night (March 1) when the Cavaliers host Florida State in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at John Paul Jones Arena. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.

UVa enters the game with an overall record of 21-7 and an 8-6 record in the ACC. The Cavaliers are coming off a 54-51 loss to North Carolina at JPJA last Saturday (Feb. 25) that ended a two-game Virginia winning streak.

Virginia seniors Mike Scott, Assane Sene and Sammy Zeglinski will be recognized before the game at 6:45 p.m.

Florida State enters Thursday’s game with an overall record of 19-9 and a 10-4 record in the ACC. The Seminoles are coming off a 78-62 loss at Miami on Sunday night (Feb. 26) and have lost their last two games.

In this week’s national rankings, UVa is ranked 24th in The Associated Press poll. Florida State is ranked 22nd in both The Associated Press poll and the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.

Single-game tickets for Virginia’s game with Florida State are available and can be purchased online at VirginiaSports.com/tickets. Tickets may also be purchased on game day at the JPJA box office starting at 5:30 p.m.

Fans may also purchase tickets for the Virginia-Florida State game through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office by telephone and in person. The Athletics Ticket Office is located in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium and is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Telephone purchases can be made by calling 1-800-542-UVA1 (8821) or locally at 434-924-UVA1 (8821).

Thursday’s game will be broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network. Locally in Charlottesville WWWV-FM (97.5) will carry the Virginia-Florida State men’s basketball game, while WINA-AM (1070) will carry the UVa women’s basketball team’s game with Boston College in the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.

The Virginia-Florida State game will also be televised by ESPN2 and carried on ESPN3.

It’s the second time this season Virginia and Florida State have met. Sophomore forward Okaro White scored 13 points and senior forward/center Xavier Gibson added 10 points to lead the Seminoles to a 58-55 victory over Virginia on Feb. 4 at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee. White and Gibson also had five rebounds each to lead the Seminoles in that department.

Senior forward Mike Scott had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead UVa in the earlier game with Florida State. Sophomore guard Joe Harris scored 16 points and had five rebounds for the Cavaliers, and freshman guard Malcolm Brogdon added 10 points.

In Virginia’s loss to North Carolina last Saturday, junior guard Jontel Evans led UVa with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. Harris scored 12 points, had five rebounds, blocked a career-high three shots and had three assists for the Cavaliers, and senior guard Sammy Zeglinski added 11 points.

The loss was just the second of the season at home for Virginia. The Cavaliers are 13-2 at JPJA this season.

Scott, the Cavaliers’ leading scorer, was hampered by foul trouble and scored six points with a team-high seven rebounds in 22 minutes of action against the Tar Heels. That ended a stretch for Scott of 14 consecutive games in double figures in scoring.

Scott leads Virginia in scoring and rebounding. He is averaging 16.9 points and 8.1 rebounds a game, while shooting 57.3 percent (180-314) from the field and 81.8 percent (108-132) from the free-throw line. Scott ranks first among ACC players in field goal percentage, third in scoring, sixth in rebounding and sixth in free throw percentage.

Harris is also averaging in double figures in scoring for the Cavaliers with an average of 11.5 points a game and Zeglinski is averaging 8.4 points a game. Zeglinski ranks tied for fifth among ACC players in steals (39, 1.5 spg. in 26 games).

Evans leads the Cavaliers in assists (105) and steals (44). He ranks fifth among ACC players in assists (3.8 apg.) and fourth in steals (1.6 spg.).

As a team, Virginia ranks first in the ACC in scoring defense (52.2), three-point field goal percentage defense (28.2 percent), rebounding defense (29.0) and defensive rebounding percentage (74.8 percent).

Nationally the Cavaliers rank first in points allowed per possession (0.86) and assists per game by opponents (7.9), second in scoring defense, fourth in defensive rebounding percentage, opponents’ assist percentage (41.3 percent) and three-point field goal percentage defense, eighth in opponents’ assist-to-turnover ratio (0.61) and 14th in field goal percentage defense (38.7 percent). Virginia has allowed points on just 43.9 percent of its opponents’ possessions this season and ranks third nationally in that department.

Florida State leads the series with Virginia 20-17. The Seminoles have won the last six meetings and nine of the last 10. The Cavaliers lead 11-7 in games played in Charlottesville in the series and Florida State has won two of the three games played at John Paul Jones Arena.

Junior guard Michael Snaer leads Florida State in scoring with an average of 13.9 points a game. Also averaging in double figures in scoring for the Seminoles are senior forward Bernard James (10.4 ppg.) and sophomore guard Ian Miller (10.4 ppg.). James leads Florida State in rebounding with an average of 8.3 rebounds a game.

Leonard Hamilton is in his 10th season as the head coach at Florida State. His Florida State teams have participated in seven post-season tournaments, including the last three NCAA Tournaments. Hamilton has also been the head coach at Oklahoma State (four seasons) and Miami (10 seasons) on the collegiate level. He was also the head coach of the Washington Wizards in 2000-01.

After the game with Florida State, the Cavaliers play their final game of the 2011-12 regular season at Maryland on Sunday (March 4). That game is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. and will be televised by the ACC Network.