No. 16 Florida State blows out No. 8 Virginia in battle of ACC's top teams

Monday night's showdown between No. 16 Florida State and No. 8 Virginia was billed as one of the top ACC games this season. 

But it certainly didn't live up to expectations on the basketball court. 

It was one-sided, all in FSU's favor. 

The Seminoles (12-3, 8-2 in ACC) routed Virginia (15-4, 11-2) 81-60 in front of 2,600 fans at the Tucker Civic Center.

FSU has now won 24 consecutive ACC games at the Donald L. Tucker Center. Only Duke from 1997 to 2000 has won more consecutive ACC home games at 26. 

M.J. Walker led the way with 17 points on 6 of 12 shooting. 

RaiQuan Gray continued his strong play with 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting. Gray entered averaging 15.6 points over his last seven games.  

The 3-point shot was the ultimate equalizer for FSU as it made 13 of 24 treys (54.2%).  

"When we shoot the ball that well, they have to be able to respect the shot because we have a lot of drivers and we have a lot of guys that can hit wide-open jump shots," Walker said. "So we make them pick, guard the drive or defend the shot.

"For us to knock down shots, it definitely opens up more opportunities for us to drive the ball. When we shoot the ball like how we did tonight, I think it just brings energy to the rest of the team and opened up more driving lanes to get shots or getting to the rim."  

Virginia hit two 3-pointers to begin the game. But then FSU answered with a run of its own as it scored seven consecutive points to surge in front 11-6 at the first media timeout. 

FSU continued its hot play after the timeout as the Seminoles forced four turnovers in the first nine minutes. 

After the second media timeout, FSU took its largest lead at 28-11 after Walker's two huge 3-pointers. During this time, the Seminoles held the Cavaliers to just 30% shooting. 

FSU extended the lead at halftime to 45-25. Gray and Walker had nine points apiece after the first 20 minutes. 

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Virginia opened the second half on a good note. The Cavs made two quick baskets and went on an 11-3 run that sliced FSU's advantage to 12 points with 15:50 left in the second half. The Seminoles went more than three minutes without a field goal. 

However, FSU regrouped. A 7-0 run helped rebuild its advantage at the media timeout with under 12 minutes remaining. The Seminoles never looked back in their 21-point victory. 

Up Next

FSU is scheduled to play its third consecutive game at the Tucker Civic Center against Virginia Tech (14-4, 8-3). However, it was announced Saturday that the Hokies' game against the Tar Heels that was scheduled to be played on Tuesday is now postponed due to COVID-19 concerns due to a positive test and contact tracing within the Virginia Tech program. 

Saturday would be the first meeting between Florida State and Virginia Tech this season. The two teams were scheduled to meet on Feb. 9, but the game was postponed following a positive test, subsequent quarantining, and contact tracing within the FSU men’s basketball program. 

Reach Antwan Staley at astaley@tallahassee.com or follow him on Twitter @antwanstaley.