Bruised Florida State hoping rest pays off against Boston College

Florida State is in a precarious position.

The No. 11 Seminoles (13-4) have dropped their last two games to No. 1 Duke (80-78) and Pittsburgh (75-62) to fall to 1-3 in the ACC.

Falling to 1-4 would be disastrous.

FSU will look to avoid that on the road against a struggling Boston College team (9-7, 0-4 ACC) Sunday at noon.

"This game right here is like a one-game championship man," FSU guard Terance Mann told the Tallahassee Democrat.

"We need this. This is all we’ve got to worry about to get us back on our feet."

The Seminoles will need guard Trent Forrest and Mann to get back in the swing of things if they're going to turn it around.

Mann is averaging 6.25 points per game in ACC play so far and Forrest is averaging 7.75. Both marks are well below their season averages of 11.5 ppg (Mann) and 10 (Forrest) ppg.

The talented duo have both been dealing with injuries that have limited what they've been able to do on the court.

"In the Winthrop game I had jumped up in the air and came down on my heel and it got real inflamed," Mann said. 

"It was on the bottom of my foot so running, jumping, walking bothers that. It was a bad bone bruise. I haven’t been able to slide over for help defense as fast as I want to. I haven’t been able to get by my guy like I want to. I haven’t been able to jump up in the air.

"I can’t tell you the last time I had a dunk in a game. It’s been affecting me a lot and it shows. It’s kind of frustrating."

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Forrest has been dealing with a nagging toe injury that's been causing him quite a bit of pain.

He played well against Pittsburgh with 19 points and nine rebounds, but even his play in that game was limited by the injury. 

Forrest is the key to the Seminoles’ half-court offense. He runs the point and opens the game up for the other players on the court when he's driving to the basket at the level he's capable of.

He hasn't been able to do that since the injury occurred.

"It affects a lot because when I’m not able to get into the paint and find guys it kind of messes with them because then they have to compensate doing different things that they’re not used to doing," Forrest said. 

"So, somebody like M.J., who is a good spot up shooter, he can get his own shot going downhill, but he hasn’t been able to get clean looks like when I’m able to penetrate and be able to find him on the wings. I would say that’s the biggest thing."

When both players aren't at their best it creates a troubling issue for the Seminoles.

Mann and Forrest have become so critical to FSU -- on both offense and defense -- that it's been a struggle for the Seminoles to find a way around it.

"It causes an issue because there’s so much inconsistency," Mann said. 

"Whether that’s people coming in for us who are getting more time than they normally would, and they’re not used to that in the biggest moments in the ACC, or whether that’s us playing 30 minutes in a game where we’re injured"

FSU last played against Pitt on Monday and got five days off before the game against BC.

Both players are hoping that it was enough time for them to heal.

"We definitely needed it," Mann said. 

"We have a big one on Sunday and it just helped us rest our feet. Hopefully it will be better by Sunday."

No. 11 Florida State at Boston College

When: Sunday, noon

Where: Chestnut Hill, MA, Conte Forum

TV/Radio: ESPNU/103.1 FM