The Florida State Seminoles and the Gonzaga Bulldogs will meet in the Sweet 16 round for the second year in a row. Gonzaga won the matchup in 2018, but the Seminoles are a dangerous team. Will the ‘Noles avenge their 2018 loss to Gonzaga and advance to the Elite Eight round? Or will Gonzaga top FSU once again? See all future odds for remaining teams in the tournament here.
Betting on the Florida State Seminoles (29-7 Overall / 13-5 Conference)
After a shaky performance in the first round against the Vermont Catamounts, Florida State appeared to have gotten the hang of this year’s March Madness, as the Seminoles coasted into an easy 90-62 win over Ja Morant and the Murray State Racers on Saturday. Mfiondu Kabengele had his second-straight 20-point game, putting up 22 points with seven rebounds and three blocks against Murray State. Although the ‘Noles were not able to completely take Morant out of the equation, they managed to hold Murray State down to only 32.8 field goal percent. Florida State’s defense will be tested to the hilt by Gonzaga’s offense that has continued to hum into the national tournament. KenPom has Florida State’s defense ranked 10th in the nation. Kabengele and Terance Mann are two key Seminoles who were on the team that lost to Gonzaga in last year’s Sweet 16 matchup. Kabengele only had seven points in 14 minutes then, while Mann had 19 points.
The over is 3-1 in Florida State’s last four games. Florida State is 17-18-1 against the spread (ATS) on the season, covering just 48.6% of the time.
Betting on the Gonzaga Bulldogs (32-3 Overall / 16-0 Conference)
Gonzaga is treating March Madness like it’s WCC conference play, as the Bulldogs crushed their second victim in a row in the tournament by beating the Baylor Bears on Saturday, 83-71. Brandon Clarke had an insane performance against the Bears, pushing his NBA stock upwards even more. Clarke was a force on both ends of the floor, scoring 36 points, grabbing five rebounds, and erasing five shots in 36 minutes. He was a one-man wrecking crew for Gonzaga, which is hoping that the junior forward will continue to be a force. Clarke was a redshirt last season, so Thursday’s meeting with Florida State will be the first time the Seminoles will have their first actual look at the San Jose State Spartans transfer. Rui Hachimura scored just six points in 23 minutes, as his services were not really needed with Clarke taking the lead in the second round. In any case, the tandem of Hachimura and Clarke in Gonzaga’s frontcourt will be a problem for Florida State.
The Bulldogs are 3-2 ATS in their last five games, and are 22-13 ATS on the season.
