Notre Dame vs. Florida State NCAAB Preview
Where: Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, Tallahassee, FL
When: Wednesday, January 18, 2017, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+6) at Florida State Seminoles (-6); total: 155.0 – view all NCAA basketball lines
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Betting on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (16-2, 5-0 ACC)
Point Spread: +6
The No. 15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish found another way to escape with a victory by defeating the Virginia Tech Hokies on their home court Saturday, 76-71. Notre Dame extended its current win streak to seven games to go with a respectable 4-2-1 record against the spread in that span, which is quite surprising given the team’s recent nail-biting performances.
The Fighting Irish remain the only undefeated team in ACC play as we speak, but their five wins within the conference have been by a combined 23 points (a mere 4.6 average margin of victory). They could’ve prevented another close call from happening on Saturday, but they allowed the Hokies to rally from a 19-point deficit before pulling through in the clutch.
Nevertheless, the Irish are getting great performances and key plays from their best players when they need it. Senior guard Steve Vasturia scored a team-high 20 points for his sixth-straight double-digit scoring game, while 6-foot-5 forward Bonzie Colson secured another double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Colson, seemingly undersized for his position, actually leads his team with 15.8 points and 10.9 boards per game this season. His matchup against Florida State’s Jonathan Isaac will be intriguing indeed, as Isaac has a five-inch height advantage over the relatively-diminutive standout.
Then again, we should never discredit the Irish from running out of luck in their tense road battles. They’ve become fearless party-pooping visitors of late, having just ended lengthy home-winning streaks of ACC rivals Virginia Tech (15) and Miami (21) in succession. FSU could very well become victim No. 3, as the team currently sports a 15-game win streak at The Tuck.
Betting on the Florida State Seminoles (16-2, 4-1 ACC)
Point Spread: -6
Can the No. 10 Florida State Seminoles survive their current gauntlet of battles against ranked opponents?
The Seminoles have just been humbled by the No. 9 North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday, 96-83, to have their school-record 12-game win streak come to an end. Their aforementioned 15-game home winning streak is in danger as well this Wednesday as they take on No. 15 Notre Dame for their fifth of six-consecutive contests versus top-25 teams.
A massive 56-34 rebounding advantage by UNC ended up being FSU’s undoing. However, the Noles will definitely favor their matchup against Notre Dame, especially with forward Jonathan Isaac seemingly back in tip-top shape. The freshman, who missed the last three games with a hip injury, finished with 17 points and 12 boards in 27 minutes of work against the Tar Heels. Again, Issac has the size advantage over Notre Dame’s Colson, and their one-on-one matchup could very well decide the outcome of Wednesday’s showdown.
Not only that, but 6-foot-7 sophomore guard Dwayne Bacon will be hard for the Fighting Irish’s starting backcourt to contain as well. Bacon had a team-high 18 points against North Carolina, has yet to be held to a single-digit scoring game this entire season, and is averaging 20 points per contest in conference play.
To top it all off, FSU’s offense in general has been electric this season with an average of 86.5 points scored per game (13th in the nation), and the team has also won three of its last four meetings against Notre Dame (2-2 ATS). Having said that, the Noles are certainly capable of preventing another one of their solid streaks from dissipating on Wednesday.
Writer’s Prediction
Florida State hands Notre Dame its first loss in conference play, 87-83, but the Fighting Irish sort of have some of that last-minute mystique left over for us bettors as they still manage to cover +6.
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