Florida State Seminoles at Duke Blue Devils Betting Preview

The ACC helps kick off another great week in college basketball with a showdown between the No. 8 Florida State Seminoles and the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils. At home, Duke is a sizable 8.5-point favorite with an over/under of 148.5 points.
The Blue Devils are fresh off an improbable win over rival North Carolina, coming back late to force overtime and ultimately surviving 98-96. It was Duke’s fifth consecutive win after a pair of losses, making Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s team 20-3 overall and 10-2 inside the ACC.
However, Duke remains 1.5 games behind Louisville atop the conference standings, so it needs to keep winning if it’s to catch the Cardinals for the regular-season crown.
Florida State, meanwhile, has an identical record at 20-3 overall and 10-2 in conference play. The Seminoles have lost just once in their last 14 games, a stretch that has lasted over two full months. Florida State cruised to a 99-81 win over Miami over the weekend but will now hit the road, where it has suffered all three of its losses this season.
The Kitchen Sink
As usual, look for Leonard Hamilton to throw everything but the kitchen sink at Duke. The Seminoles are one of the deepest teams in the country with 11 players who average at least 10 minutes per game. Hamilton will keep tweaking his lineup until he finds something that works.
He’ll also keep flooding the floor with fresh bodies in an effort to out-work the Blue Devils.
While Florida State only has three players who average double figures in points, it’s worth noting that M.J. Walker got back on track with 14 points against Miami after failing to reach double figures in four of his last five games.
He’s an important X-factor for the Seminoles, as he and leading scorer Devin Vassell are Florida State’s best outside shooters. The Blue Devils have strong perimeter defenders, so Florida State will need to knock down shots from the outside.
Mr. Jones and Us
Freshman Vernon Carey Jr. has emerged as Duke’s latest star, but point guard Tre Jones is still the engine that makes the Blue Devils go. In addition to being an elite defender, Jones is running the show on the offensive end with 6.6 assists per game.
He’s also the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging close to 16 points per game and putting a lot more of the scoring burden on his shoulders.
Of course, the Blue Devils may be hardest to match up against in the frontcourt. Carey has three double-doubles in his last four games, while Wendell Moore Jr. recorded a double-double against North Carolina, a breakout game for him after missing most of January due to injury.
Those two will be a handful for Florida State, especially on the boards, as the Seminoles don’t have as much size as they’ve had in recent years.
Toss-up Time
The Blue Devils will only have about 48 hours to enjoy an emotional comeback win over their biggest rivals before a top 10 team invades Durham. That won’t be easy for a team that’s awfully young. Playing Florida State isn’t particularly easy in the first place.
Bet on Florida State to beat the 8.5-point spread in what should be a close game that could go either way.