The red-hot, ninth-ranked Florida State Seminoles will look to extend their winning ways when they host the struggling, defending national champion Virginia Cavaliers on Wednesday night. With the Cavs desperate for a win and the Seminoles looking to take care of business, let’s find out which team is offering the best value against their college basketball odds.
Virginia vs FSU 2020 College Basketball Lines, Analysis & Prediction
- When: Wednesday January 15, 2020, 7:00 PM ET
- Where: Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, Tallahassee, FL
- TV: ESPN2
- College Basketball Odds: Florida State -6.5 / Total: 114.5
Why Bet On Virginia?
The defending national champion Cavaliers will be highly motivated in this ACC clash as they look to snap a modest two-game losing streak. While Virginia comes into this affair off a humbling 63-55 overtime loss against Syracuse on Saturday, the Cavs have split their last four games while winning six of 10 overall.
More importantly, Virginia has an elite defense that ranks first nationally in points allowed (48.7 ppg) and first in defensive field goal percentage (34.6%). The bad news is that the Cavaliers are pretty inept on offense in averaging just 55.7 points per game while shooting a pitiful 39.9 percent from the field and 26.8 percent from beyond the arc. Virginia is 3-2 on the road, but just 1-2 ATS away from home.
Team Statistics
Offense:- Average Score For: 55.67
- Field Goals: 39.87%
- Three Points: 26.85%
- Free Throws: 71.73%
- Rebounds: 35.53
- Average Score Against: 48.67
- Field Goals: 34.58%
- Three Points: 27.61%
- Free Throws: 67.46%
- Rebounds: 30.33
Why Bet On Florida State?
There are a bunch of good reasons to back the Seminoles as a 6.5-point home favorite in this contest. Florida State has won seven straight and nine of their last 10 including a convincing 78-68 win over Wake Forest last Wednesday. The Noles have covered the chalk in three straight and have a solid offense that averages 76.4 points per game (74th) while shooting 46.9 percent from the field to rank an encouraging 39th nationally. Not only that, but the Seminoles also have a very good defense that limits the opposition to just 63.4 points per game (61st) on 39.3 percent shooting from the field (47th).
Team Statistics
Offense:- Average Score For: 76.38
- Field Goals: 46.86%
- Three Points: 33.92%
- Free Throws: 75.92%
- Rebounds: 34.06
- Average Score Against: 63.44
- Field Goals: 39.32%
- Three Points: 32.56%
- Free Throws: 71.70%
- Rebounds: 33.38
College Basketball Betting Trends for Virginia vs FSU
- Virginia is 2-11 ATS in the last 13 games
- Virginia is 16-4 SU in the last 20 games
- The total went OVER in 4 of Virginia’s last 5 games
- Florida State is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 games against an opponent in the Atlantic Coast conference
- Florida State is 7-0 SU in the last 7 games
- The total went OVER in 4 of Florida State’s last 6 games
Virginia vs FSU Expert Analysis and Prediction
While I love the defensive-minded program that Tony Bennett has built at Virginia and everyone saw his system pay off in a big way by winning last season’s national championship, the Cavaliers are too offensively-challenged to overcome Florida State in this affair. Yes, the Cavs have an elite defense that leads the nation in fewest points allowed, but Florida State also has an outstanding defense and the Seminoles have the huge edge offensively in putting up almost 20 points per game more than Virginia.
The Cavaliers are an awful 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games against a team with a winning straight up record and 2-11 ATS in their last 13 games overall while the Seminoles have gone a bankroll-boosting 43-19-2 ATS in their last 64 games as a home underdog. The 6.5-point spread looks super manageable for Florida State in this affair. I say, back the Cavs to get it done in this ACC matchup.
Pick: Florida State 67 Virginia 57
