Hurricanes and Seminoles meet in Sunshine State showdown

Feb 26, 2012 - 3:34 PM Coral Gables, FL (Sports Network) - The 15th-ranked Florida State Seminoles will look to bounce back against the Miami-Florida Hurricanes for the second time this month, as the instate rivals square off in an Atlantic Coast Conference battle at the BankUnited Center.

FSU owns a 39-28 lead in the all-time series with Miami. The Seminoles have won 11 of the last 12 meetings, including their 64-59 triumph over the Hurricanes on February 11th.

Leonard Hamilton has led his squad to a third place standing in the ACC as it is 1.5 games back of Duke and North Carolina coming into this one. A league title is still quite possible for FSU. The Seminoles dropped a 74-66 decision to Duke on Thursday which left them with a 19-8 overall record. FSU could not get it going offensively as it shot 39.7 percent from the field and made only 4-of-15 from three-point range against the Blue Devils. The Seminoles have typically been great on both ends of the floor all season as they are netting 69.9 ppg, while limiting opponents to 61.3 ppg.

The Seminoles are led by Michael Snaer. The junior shooting guard leads the team with 13.7 ppg after he scored a team-high 18 points in the loss to Duke on Thursday. Snaer has been clutch this season, as he made game-winning three- pointers to help FSU defeat Duke and Virginia Tech. Bernard James, Okara White, and Bernard Gibson all play vital roles for FSU as well. James is grabbing 8.3 boards per game. Deividas Dulkys, although quiet as of late, can be dangerous, as he showed earlier this season with a 32-point outing on a remarkable 12-of-14 shooting performance against North Carolina.

After a five-game winning streak, the Hurricanes lost for the third time in four games on Tuesday as they lost 75-70 to the Maryland Terrapins. Head coach Jim Larranaga could not have been happy as he saw his team outshot and outrebounded by Maryland in the setback. Miami is now 16-10 overall and a half-game out of fifth place in the ACC Standings with a 7-6 mark in league action.

Kenny Kadji has been playing very well despite Miami's recent troubles. The junior forward is averaging 15.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game for the Hurricanes, and has scored in double-figures 13 times in a row. Reggie Johnson was non-existent in the loss to Maryland as he finished with just three points. The junior center's lack of aggressiveness has to be frustrating after he showed the ability to dominate earlier this month with a 27-point and 12- rebound performance versus Duke. Malcolm Grant and Durand Scott manage the backcourt for Miami. Scott will be a worthy opponent for Snaer, as they both finished with 12 points in their first meeting.