Florida State vs. UConn: College basketball game preview, TV schedule

The Florida State Seminoles are back another winning streak, but there’s another tough opponent coming up in UConn, although they’re unranked.

TV schedule: Saturday, Dec. 8, 6:30 p.m. ET. ESPN2

Arena: Prudential Arena in Newark, New Jersey

The Florida State Seminoles are back on a two-game winning streak but they will be battle-tested on Saturday against head coach Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies. The Huskies have already beaten one ACC foe in the Syracuse Orange, 83-76, back in the 2K Empire Classic on Nov. 15, so they shouldn’t be a team that’s taken lightly.

The Seminoles have already lost a game to an unranked opponent this in defending National Champion, Villanova, back on Nov. 25. With a 7-1 record, the Seminoles looked poised to have a solid season in ACC play, but first, they’ll need to get by the Huskies.

Florida State is led by a balanced scoring attack of Terance Mann (11.1 ppg), M.J. Walker (10.3 ppg), Trent Forrest (10.3) and P.J. Savoy (9.5 ppg). Off the bench, Mfiondu Kabengele is putting together a Sixth Man of the Year campaign with 11.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

Mann leads the team in rebounding with 7.3 per contest and Forrest leads the team in assists with 3.6 assists per game. Versatility will be key for the Seminoles in getting their eighth win of the season and preventing the upset.

Defensively, the Huskies will be a challenge for Florida State as they’re averaging 85.6 points per game, which ranks 24th in the nation. Senior guard Jalen Adams leads the UConn offense with 19.0 points per game and right behind him is junior guard Christian Vital with 12.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

The Seminoles will need to use their size to their advantage in this one if they hope to win with ease. Adams stands at 6-foot-3 and Vital stands at 6-foot-2 while Florida State’s senior leaders Terance Mann and Trent Forrest stand at 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-5, respectively. With a considerable size advantage all-around, it will be interesting to see how the Seminoles approach their game on Saturday.

It will the team’s seventh all-time meeting in history and their first meeting since the 2011-12 season. During that season, UConn won that game 78-76 as the No. 4 ranked team in the country. This time around, the Seminoles will be the only ranked team but they shouldn’t sleep on the Huskies in this one. The Seminoles lead the series currently with a record of 4-3.

One considerable advantage UConn will have is the game is a neutral site game in Newark, NJ, not too far from Storrs, Conn., giving them a homecourt advantage of sorts. With the crowd on their side, they could make it a game and upset yet another ACC squad.

Prediction: Florida State 85 – UConn 80