ACC Basketball: Kyle Guy and Braxton Key propels Virginia over Florida State
Two of the best teams in college basketball faced each other looking to win their first ACC game. It ended up with Virginia remaining unbeaten over Florida State.
When the ninth-ranked Florida State Seminoles (12-2, 0-1 ACC) and fourth-ranked Virginia Cavaliers (13-0, 1-0 ACC) came together, it was the Kyle Guy show. He led the Cavaliers to victory behind his hot shooting night and the Cavaliers defense held their ground.
Guy came into this game shooting 45 percent from the three-point line, and in the first half, he made all four of his shots from out there. He had 18 points at halftime and as a team, the Cavaliers shot six-for-12 (50 percent) from the three-point line.
The game got away from Florida State after the 4:58 mark in the first half when they were down 27-19. After that point, the Cavaliers lead grew and kept growing. Virginia was getting their points off of free throws and three-point shots.
The Virginia Cavaliers got quality minutes from Alabama transfer Braxton Key who had 12 points and four rebounds off the bench to give the Cavaliers a 42-23 halftime lead.
They also were able to cause eight Florida State turnovers.
To start the second half, the Cavaliers continued to work the ball inside, draw fouls and use the three-point shot at their disposal because it was going down for them.
Virginia’s largest lead was 27 points, 61-34 with a little over four minutes left to play.and by game’s end, the Seminoles cut their lead to 13 points, a final score of 65-52.
Guy finished the game with 21 points, five rebounds and three assists and Key had 20 points and six rebounds
This game came down to Virginia’s ability to score often and play defense. They are not the top defense in the nation for no reason. They capitalized when Florida State turned the ball over scoring 21 points.
Terance Mann, Mfiondu Kabengele and Trent Forrest were not factors in this game and the Seminoles had no players score in double figures.
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The Virginia Cavaliers are tied for second in the ACC with a lone win. Virginia Tech is in first place at 2-0 in conference play. The Cavaliers play the Boston College Eagles (9-4, 0-1 ACC) on Wednesday Jan.9. Next up for the Seminoles are the Miami Hurricanes (8-5, 0-1 ACC) on Wednesday as well.