Seventh-ranked Virginia was able to cut a 20-point halftime deficit to seven, but a 17-0 Florida State run undid that, and the 16th-ranked ‘Noles rolled to an 81-60 win on Big Monday in Tallahassee.
Kihei Clark, held scoreless in the first half, ignited the charge, scoring 10 points and dishing to Sam Hauser for an open three to key the run that turned a 45-25 deficit into something more interesting, at 48-41, on a Trey Murphy III three with 14:24 to go.
Scottie Barnes answered that one with a three on FSU’s next possession.
A short Clark jumper got UVA (15-4, 11-2 ACC) back to 51-43 with 13:37 to go, but the ‘Noles (12-3, 8-2 ACC) would hold the ‘Hoos scoreless for the next 6:08 while scoring on six of their seven possessions.
The capper: a three by 7’1” sophomore center Balsa Koprivica, who had not attempted a single shot from behind the arc all season, that stretched the lead back to 25, at 68-43 with 8:27 to go.
Recap by Chris Graham
Postgame Coverage
- ‘Street Knowledge’ podcast: Analysis of #7 UVA’s blowout loss at #16 Florida State
#TeamAFP’s Chris Graham and Scott German break down #17 UVA’s 81-60 loss at Florida State on ACC Big Monday. - Bad loss, sure, but Virginia is going to be fine
Fans, people who post on message boards – they can be mutually exclusive – look at an ugly loss, like Virginia’s 81-60 beatdown at Florida State, and think, bloviate, season’s over. - Lesson learned: If a game is going to be physical, Virginia needs to be physical
Kihei Clark had nothing – almost nothing, no points, two assists – in the first half, and his Virginia team was down 20 at the break.
Game Notes
- Virginia’s (15-4, 11-2 ACC) four-game winning streak ended
- The Cavaliers suffered their largest ACC loss since losing 65-41 at North Carolina on Feb. 18, 2017
- UVA fell to 1-3 vs. ranked opponents
- FSU’s 24-game ACC home winning streak is the second longest in league history
- FSU went on 14-0 run to gain early 16-6 lead
- FSU shot 53.3 percent and outrebounded Virginia 17-10 en route to a 45-25 halftime lead
- FSU’s 45 first-half points were most allowed by UVA in opening half since 48 at Tennessee (12/30/13)
- UVA started the second half on a 16-3 run to cut the margin to 48-41
- FSU’s 13 3-pointers were most allowed by UVA in ACC play and tied for most in 2020-21
- Virginia is 26-27 all-time vs. Florida State, including an 8-17 mark in Tallahassee, in a series that began in 1991-92
- Florida State’s 81 points were its most vs. Virginia since scoring 87 on Jan. 11, 2006 (87-82 FSU overtime win)
- UVA had limited Florida State to fewer than 70 points in each of the previous 19 meetings
- Head coach Tony Bennett is 9-10 all-time vs. Florida State
- Double Figure Scorers: Trey Murphy III (13), Kihei Clark (12), Tomas Woldetensae (12), Sam Hauser (11)
- Clark scored all 12 of his points in the second half
- Hauser has reached double figures in 17 games
- Murphy has reached double figures in 13 games
- Clark reached double figures for the 11th time
- Woldetensae reached double figures for the third time
- Huff (2 blocks) recorded his 14th multi-block game (41st career)
- Kody Stattmann returned to action after missing 15 games with a non-COVID 19 cardiac issue
Pregame Coverage
- What UVA Basketball fans need to know about Florida State
Now that Tony Bennett has a national championship, Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton is on the short list of best coaches that don’t yet have one. - Street Knowledge: Looking ahead to UVA-FSU
AFP editor Chris Graham takes one more look back at #9 UVA’s win over North Carolina, then looks ahead to Big Monday at Florida State.
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