Florida State Seminoles at Duke Blue Devils Betting Preview
Saturday will feature an ACC showdown as the Florida State Seminoles (14-11, 7-8 in ACC) square off with the No. 9 Duke Blue Devils (22-4, 12-3 in ACC). The Blue Devils will host this one at Cameron Indoor Stadium, with tipoff scheduled for 6:00 pm ET.
Florida State broke a six-game losing streak in their last outing, beating Clemson 81-80 at home.
In the win, Rayquan Evans tied a game-high with 28 points, while Cam’Ron Fletcher added 17 points and eight rebounds.
Duke has won eight of their last nine games, including a 76-74 home win over Wake Forest on Tuesday.
Mark Williams had a double-double in the victory with 16 points and ten rebounds. Wendell Moore also added 16 points, while Paolo Banchero had 13.
Duke is the heavy favorite in this one playing at home. They are -2000 to win while the Seminoles’ moneyline sits at +980. The spread features Florida State +15.5 (-110), and the over/under for total points is 142.5.
More Odds
Duke is the favorite to win the ACC at -300. Florida State is tied for the worst odds of winning the conference at +50000.
In terms of the National Championship, Duke is tied for the sixth-best odds of winning it all at +1400. Florida State is +30000 to win it all.
By The Numbers
Duke has one of the best offenses in college basketball when things are clicking. They rank 11th in scoring averaging 79.8 points per game (82.4 at home). The Seminoles rank 131st averaging 71.7 points per game (68.1 on the road).
Defensively, it is again Duke with the edge. They rank 51st in scoring defense as they are allowing opponents an average of 65.1 points per game. Florida State ranks 204th as they are allowing 70.6 points per game.
Seminoles Hoping For A Season Sweep
In a true shocker, Florida State was able to take down Duke at home on January 18. In the overtime win, the Seminoles erased a five-point deficit in the second half en route to a victory.
While it will be a tougher task beating Duke at Cameron Stadium, the Seminoles would love to pick up the season sweep on their conference rivals.
Unfortunately, the Seminoles have been ravished with injuries lately. In fact, three of their top four scorers are out, or doubtful, for this game, including Caleb Mills (ankle), Malik Osborne (ankle), and Anthony Polite (wrist).
Even their fifth-leading scorer, Rayquan Evans, is questionable for this game after injuring his knee last game.
That leaves just Matthew Cleveland, who is averaging 10.6 points and 4.8 rebounds, as their lone top threat.
Duke Looking For ACC Title In Krzyzewski’s Last Season
For as dominant as Duke has been under head coach Mike Krzyzewski, the program has not won even a share of the ACC regular-season championship since the 2009-10 season. In his final season, Krzyzewski is trying to change that.
Entering play Saturday, the Blue Devils are tied with Notre Dame for the ACC lead, and Duke will look to pick up another conference win while avenging an earlier loss as they host Florida State Saturday.
Leading the way for Duke’s offense is freshman phenom, Paolo Banchero. He is averaging 16.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and a block per game.
Other major contributors include Wendell Moore Jr (13.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists), Trevor Keels (11.9 points, four rebounds, three assists, 1.6 steals), and Mark Williams (10.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, three blocks).
Take Duke To Win And Cover
If Florida State was completely healthy, this would be a no-brainer to take them and the points. The sad reality, though, is that they have been decimated by injuries and will be relying on true freshmen to go into Cameron Stadium to try to steal another win from Duke.
Motivated by a conference title and revenge, expect Duke to send a message on Saturday with a big win over the Seminoles.
Take the Blue Devils to not only win the game but to cover the massive 15.5-point spread as well.
