Game Notes: Virginia faces Florida State in ACC Saturday hoops showdown

Virginia (17-11, 11-7 ACC) hosts Florida State (14-13, 7-10 ACC) on Saturday. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 4 p.m.

Broadcast Information

The Virginia-Florida State game will be televised on ESPN2 and streamed online at WatchESPN.com and ESPN App.
The game will also be broadcast on Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
Live statistics will be available on VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.

UVA is led by its backcourt of Kihei Clark (10.5 ppg & 4.2 apg) and Reece Beekman (7.9 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.5 rpg & 2.0 spg), and the additions of transfers Jayden Gardner (15.3 ppg & 7.0 rpg) and Armaan Franklin (11.4 ppg).
The Cavaliers added transfers Gardner (East Carolina) and Franklin (Indiana) to fill the void left by standouts Sam Hauser (16 ppg), Jay Huff (13 ppg) and Trey Murphy III (11.3 ppg).
Gardner averaged 18.5 points and 8.9 rebounds in 79 career games at East Carolina, while Franklin averaged 11.4 points and shot 42.5 percent from 3-point range in 2020-21.
Francisco Caffaro (4.5 ppg & 4.5 rpg) and Kadin Shedrick (7.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg & 2.2 bpg) anchor the paint. Shedrick started the first 16 games, while Caffaro has started the last 12 contests.
Kody Stattmann (37.8% 3FGs), Malachi Poindexter, Taine Murray, Igor Miliĉić Jr. and Carson McCorkle provide perimeter depth off the bench.

The Seminoles are 3-1 against Virginia in Tallahassee, 1-2 against the Cavaliers in Charlottesville and 1-0 in the ACC Tournament in last six seasons.
With 10 steals against Boston College on Monday night in Chestnut Hill, Florida State enters Saturday’s game against Virginia as the ACC steals leader with an 8.9 steals per game average. The Seminoles’ 10 steals against the Eagles marked the third time this season they have earned double digit steals in ACC play and the ninth time overall this season that they have earned 10 or more steals in a game.
Freshman Matthew Cleveland has started seven of the Seminoles last eight games since earning his first career starting assignment on Jan. 29 against Virginia Tech. He hasscored in double figures in each of his games as a starter and averages 11.4 points when introduced as a starter for the Seminoles. Cleveland scored his career-high of 21 points as a reserve in Florida State’s victory over North Florida on Jan. 20 and scored his ACC career-high of 18 points at Boston College on Feb. 21.

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Chris Graham, the king of "fringe media," is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019, and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].