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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - David Nichols scored 14 points and No. 12 Florida State knocked off No. 2 Virginia 69-59 on Friday night to advance to the championship game of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
Phil Cofer had 11 points and 7-foot-3 center Christ Koumadje added nine points and nine rebounds for the Seminoles, who will play the winner of No. 3 North Carolina/No. 5 Duke on Saturday night.
The Cavaliers loss comes on the same floor where they became the first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament to lose to a 16 seed in Maryland-Baltimore County last year. It's also the same floor where Virginia lost a second-round game as a No. 2 seed to seventh-seeded Michigan State in 2015.
De'Andre Hunter had 13 points for Virginia (29-3), which had its nine-game winning streak snapped and suffered its first loss to a team other than Duke.
Florida State (27-6) was in control from the start. The Seminoles built a 35-31 at halftime behind the inside play of Koumadje, who had seven points and nine rebounds in the first half after registering just two points and two rebounds in a 65-52 loss to Virginia earlier this season.
The 35 points were essentially an offensive explosion for the Seminoles, who didn't score their 35th point against Virginia until 2:34 remained in the previous matchup.
Florida State broke open the game midway through the second half with a 13-1 run led by Nichols, a graduate transfer who scored on a drive, a low post move, and a turnaround jumper during the stretch. While Nichols was heating up, the Cavaliers couldn't score, going nearly 6 1/2 minutes without a field goal.
BIG PICTURE
Florida State: The Seminoles are one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 14 of 15 games with the only loss during that stretch coming at North Carolina.
Virginia: The Cavaliers have only lost three games all season - two of those to Duke - so it stands to reason they still have a chance at earning a No. 1 seed.
UP NEXT
Florida State: Will look for its first ACC Tournament title since 2012.
Virginia: Will wait to hear on where they are seeded in the NCAA Tournament.
NOTES
Florida State (27-6) advanced to Saturday night’s 8:30 p.m. championship game and will face the winner of Friday night’s second semifinal between No. 2 seed North Carolina and No. 3 Duke … UNC posted a 77-59 win when the teams met at Chapel Hill on Feb. 23 … It is Florida State’s only loss in the last 53 days.
FSU reached the ACC Tournament championship game for the third time and for the first time since claiming the 2012 title at Atlanta’s Philips Arena … The Seminoles are 19-26 all-time in ACC Tournament play, 3-2 in semifinal games.
Virginia (29-3) slipped to 42-63 all time in ACC Tournament play and to 9-3 as the No. 1 seed ... The loss snapped a nine-game Virginia winning streak.
This marks the 19th time in the 66-year history of the ACC Tournament that the No. 1 seed failed to reach the championship game, but the second time in three seasons … No. 5 Duke defeated No. 3 Notre Dame in the 2017 title game at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
The No. 4 Seed is now 12-23 all-time versus the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament.
With their 27th victory, the Seminoles tied the school single-season record set by the 1972 team that reached the NCAA championship game before losing to UCLA.
Led by David Nichols’ 6-for-8 effort from the floor, FSU matched its season high by shooting 56.5 percent from the floor. Nichols led all scorers with 14 points.
Nichols scored in double-figures for the eighth time this season and the first time since leading the Seminoles with 16 points in a road loss at North Carolina on Feb. 23.
Florida State limited Virginia to a 5-for-24 shooting night (20.8 percent) from 3-point range … The Cavaliers entered the game leading the ACC in field goal shooting percentage at 41.6 percent.
Led by Christ Koumadje’s game-high nine rebounds, the Seminoles held a 35-20 advantage on the boards.
De’Andre Hunter led Virginia in scoring with 13 points … The double-figure scoring game was Hunter’s 28th of the season.
Friday night marked only the second time that all ACC Tournament semifinal participants were ranked among the AP poll’s top 12 … The first was March 12, 1995: No. 4 UNC def. No. 10 Maryland 97-92 in OT; No. 7 Wake Forest defeated No. 11 Virginia 77-68.
Florida State (27-6) advanced to Saturday night’s 8:30 p.m. championship game and will face the winner of Friday night’s second semifinal between No. 2 seed North Carolina and No. 3 Duke … UNC posted a 77-59 win when the teams met at Chapel Hill on Feb. 23 … It is Florida State’s only loss in the last 53 days … Duke edged the Seminoles 80-78 at Tallahassee on Jan. 12 on a 3-pointer in the fading seconds.