Duke vs. Florida State Pick
Will No. 7 Duke be able to go on the road and hand No. 9 Florida State its first loss in the ACC when they meet tonight at 8PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, Florida State is actually the favorite at home tonight, as the Seminoles are getting odds of -2.5 points against the Blue Devils. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 159 points. Duke has won four straight in this series, going 3-1 against the spread in those four games.
Duke has won its last two games to get to 14-2 on the season and 2-1 in the ACC. However, the Blue Devils have failed to cover in four of their last five to move to 7-8 against the spread. Duke is averaging 85.2 points per game for the season while allowing just 64.5 points per game. Duke is actually shooting 50 percent from the field on the road this season as well. The Blue Devils will be without a key player tonight as Amile Jefferson, who averages 13.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, is out with a foot injury. Luke Kennard is leading the team with 20.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest.
Florida State is on an 11-game winning streak to get to 15-1 on the season and 3-0 in the ACC. FSU is also 10-4 against the spread, covering in all three ACC games thus far. The Seminoles are averaging 86.6 points per game on offense this season while giving up 68.8 points per game. At home, FSU is putting up 92.5 points per game and shooting 51.7 percent from the field. Dwayne Bacon is putting up 18.1 points per game to lead the offense while Jonathan Isaac is adding 12.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
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It’s hard to accept, but Florida State appears to be for real and could contend on the national level this year. The Seminoles have a great offense that is even stronger at home. FSU took care of Virginia on the road and also beat a Virginia Tech team that Duke lost to. The Blue Devils are without one of their best players and their coach, so going on the road and beating this FSU team doesn’t seem likely to me. Duke hasn’t been living up to expectations for the most part recently and I expect more of that today.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL DAILY PREDICTION: FLORIDA STATE -2.5
