NC State at Florida State Odds, Prediction & TV Info

As things stand now, NC State isn’t an NCAA Tournament team despite having one of the nation’s top freshmen in point guard Dennis Smith Jr. The Wolfpack could help sway the committee come March with an upset at No. 14 Florida State on Wednesday, but the Noles are NCAA basketball betting favorites.

NC State at Florida State Odds, Prediction & TV Info

When: Wednesday, Feb. 8, 7 PM ET Where: Donald L. Tucker Center, Tallahassee, Fla. TV: ESPN2 Stream: WatchESPN Radio: NC State / Florida State Opening NCAAB Lines: FSU favored by TBA

Why Bet On NC State?

The Wolfpack (14-10) are off a trough 84-79 home loss to Miami on Saturday. NC State dropped its third straight ACC game despite making 56.3 percent of its shots and 61.1 percent of its 3-pointers. The Wolfpack also led by nine at halftime. “You look at our numbers across the line offensively, and this is kind of like a broken record, we should be able to win the game,” N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said. Smith, Jr., continued to climb the leaderboard on NC State’s all-time greats, passing J.J. Hickson to take second on the Wolfpack’s all-time freshman scoring list with 461 points. Smith Jr. finished with 31 points on 10-for- 15 shooting. Smith, Terry Henderson and Malik Abu—the third highest scoring trio in the ACC at 45.1 points per game—combined for 62 points against the Hurricanes. Abu scored 10 points and Henderson added 21 points on 7-for- 10 shooting. NC State’s 11 blocked shots are the most in a single game this season for the Pack. The previous season-best was 10 against Tennessee State on Dec. 10. Smith was named ACC Freshman of the Week on Monday. In two games, last week, Smith averaged 22 points, 12 assists, 6.5 rebounds and two steals. He opened the week by registering his second triple-double of the season with 13 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds in NC State’s overtime loss to Syracuse. Smith became the first player in ACC history to record two triple-doubles in league play in the same year. He is the fourth player in ACC history to record two triple-doubles in a single season, and the first since Clemson’s Sharone Wright in the 1992-93 season. Smith is also the first ACC freshman to record two triple-doubles in the same season since Virginia’s Ralph Sampson in the 1979-80 season. Smith ranks in the top-five in the ACC in scoring (fifth – 19.2 ppg.), assists (1st – 6.96 apg.) and steals (t-1st – 2.21 spg.). He leads all ACC freshmen in all three categories. Smith’s current points per game average would be the highest for an ACC freshman since Joe Smith averaged 19.4 points per game in the 1993-94 season.

Why Bet On Florida State?

FSU clobbered Clemson 109-61 over the weekend. The Noles never trailed after the game’s first four minutes. They led by 26 at halftime. They won by 48. The team shot 75% on 2s in the first half, and forced Clemson to turn it over on 39% of their possessions. The Florida State defense was active and smothering, holding Clemson to just 0.84 points per possession, which is their worst output of the year. FSU scored 1.49 per possession, which is the 4th best by any team in ACC play. The 48-point margin of victory was 12 points larger than any game FSU has ever won since joining the ACC. Dwayne Bacon had a career-high 29 points. As a team, FSU shot 66.1% from the floor, a school record for an ACC game. The Noles shot a blistering 57% (17-30) from beyond the arc, with the number of threes made also being a school record in ACC play. Additionally, the 109 points were the most scored in an ACC game by FSU since 1999 and the 48-point margin of victory was largest ever in a conference game by the school. The Seminoles made 17 threes in the game, shooting nearly 57% (17-30) from beyond the arc. The Seminoles are at their best when they’re deflecting passes and getting out into transition for easy buckets. On Sunday, FSU forced Clemson into 22 turnovers, propelling them into 35 points. The Noles also blocked five shots, giving them numerous opportunities to get out and run, reflected by their 18 fast break points. The FSU bench was strong yet again, outscoring Clemson’s unit 55-26. The win moved Florida State to 20-4 (8-3 ACC) on the year, the fastest the program has ever reached 20 wins in a season. This is the only scheduled meeting between FSU and NC State.

NC State at Florida State Prediction: FSU

Take FSU at home, where it has been dominant all season.