Sunshine State showdown pits 'Noles against 'Canes

Jan 27, 2013 - 3:49 PM Coral Gables, FL (Sports Network) - The 25th-ranked Miami Hurricanes put their perfect home and Atlantic Coast Conference records on the line as they host the Florida State Seminoles at the BankUnited Center for an in-state bout.

The Seminoles come in with a 40-29 all-time record against Miami in the series that dates back to the 1950-51 campaign. The Hurricanes last faced FSU at the ACC Tournament on March 9, 2012 and lost, 82-71.

Miami is coming off its thrilling, 90-63 rout of the top-ranked Duke Blue Devils. The victory kept Jim Larranaga's squad as the only unbeaten left in ACC play at 5-0. The team has won six consecutive games overall coming into this contest and moved to a 14-3 overall mark with its convincing win over the Blue Devils.

The Hurricanes lead the ACC in scoring margin in league games at +11.4 ppg. Durand Scott transforms the Hurricanes into a much more explosive squad on the offensive end with his 14.6 points per game. The 6-foot-3 Scott showed his value as he poured in a season-high 25 points in the triumph over Duke. Miami has a very valuable piece up front in Kenny Kadji, who has used strong interior play to post 13.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game, while Shane Larkin chips in 12.5 points and 3.9 assists per game from the point guard slot. Miami is only going to get better now that the 6-10, 292- pound Reggie Johnson has returned from an injury that kept him out for eight games prior to the victory over Duke.

Coach Leonard Hamilton's team is also riding some momentum into this one. FSU overcame a 13-point deficit to defeat Clemson, 60-57, on Thursday as Michael Snaer banked in a 3-pointer as time expired. The senior guard, who hit game- winners versus Duke and Virginia Tech last season as well, paces the team with 14.5 points and 2.6 assists per tilt.

Okara White is the only other consistent double-digit scorer for FSU with 12.9 ppg. The Seminoles are in the middle of the pack in the ACC in both scoring offense (70.2) and scoring defense (66.6). Junior guard Ian Miller has the potential to make the squad offensively competent. Miller produced 10.3 ppg on 39.7 percent shooting from the floor and 39.7 percent from distance a season ago, but he is netting just 5.5 ppg, this year with drastically lower field goal (.324) and three-point (.293) efficiency ratings.