Florida State vs Syracuse Odds
| Florida State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3.5 -110 | 150.5 -115o / -105u | +135 |
| Syracuse Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3.5 -110 | 150.5 -115o / -105u | -160 |
Syracuse will hope to build on its huge game-winning 3 from Quadir Copeland in Saturday's win over Miami. That was only Copeland's seventh made triple of the year, so it was fairly unexpected.
Meanwhile, Florida State won five straight ACC games before falling short at home against Clemson on Saturday.
Florida State Seminoles
The Seminoles lack top-end talent like Judah Mintz and JJ Starling, but their depth is elite. The Noles have 12 players averaging double-digit minutes per game, including five frontcourt players who can dominate the paint and attack the glass against the Orange's interior bodies.
Leonard Hamilton's squad is poor in two areas: handling the ball in pick-and-roll situations and spot-up shooting. According to Synergy, FSU has a poor 0.816 points per possession in spot-up shooting situations and 0.730 points per possession in pick-and-roll ball-handler situations.
That leaves the team in a precarious position when it's not forcing turnovers and playing a full-court game.
In a half-court situation, Florida State is a pretty mediocre team. A pure point guard is needed, and Jalen Warley is the only one capable of making a difference at the point guard spot. His main goal in this game is to defend Mintz and slow down the dominant Cuse guard.
The two players who could make a big difference in this matchup are sophomore forward Baba Miller and sharpshooter Darin Green Jr.
Miller possesses a ton of skill for his 6-foot-11 frame, which garnered him attention in NBA circles. He still needs to put it all together, but he could dominate against Chris Bell or Benny Williams in this one.
Green is shooting over 40% from deep this season, and he's the only Seminole connecting on over 35% from 3.
Syracuse Orange
Syracuse hasn't jumped into the NCAA tournament discussion yet, as it ranks 72nd in KenPom and 64th in the NCAA NET rankings.
The good thing is Cuse owns a clean resume, meaning all five of its losses came in the Q1 territory. A loss against Florida State in the JMA Wireless Dome is a different story, though.
The Orange's strong defense (30th in Defensive Efficiency) carried them to most of their wins.
Who else is just super shocked (sarcasm) that ditching the brutal 2-3 zone from the last few seasons would instantly translate into more wins? Red Autry is from the Jim Boeheim tree, but he's a man-to-man defensive coach all the way, which is great news.
Cuse is pretty aggressive on defense, forcing turnovers on 20% of its defensive possessions. The Orange want to get in transition via those forced giveaways.
Meanwhile, on the other end, Mintz is one of America's most consistent point guards. The 6-foot-4 talent averages 17.9 points and 4.3 assists per game, and is shooting an improved 35% from 3. Mintz lives in the lane, and if Florida State can't force him to beat it on the perimeter, it'll be a long night for the Noles.
I have some concerns about Syracuse's rebounding problems. Without 7-foot-4 big Naheem McLeod, Maliq Brown and Bell are the frontline starters. Brown is fairly effective on glass, but Bell hauls in fewer than two boards per game.
That's a real problem against the size and length of Florida State.
Brown is really coming into his own, though, averaging nine points and six rebounds while playing stout interior defense. He's a really important player for Cuse in this matchup.
Florida State vs. Syracuse
Betting Pick & Prediction
Although both teams have tempos inside the top-50 nationally, they play very similar styles — hoping to force turnovers and win on defense.
I'm expecting an offensive struggle, as both teams lose the ball left and right.
It wouldn't surprise me if both teams turned the ball over 15+ times, which will lead to some inconsistent offensive flow.
I'll grab the under here.
Pick: Under 150.5 (Play to 149.5)
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