Florida State at Notre Dame Odds, Free Pick & TV Info

Posted by Michael Hunt on Friday,February 10, 2017 8:33, EDT in

NCAA Basketball News, Betting Tips, Picks & Previews

Important game in the ACC on Saturday evening as No. 14 Florida State visits Notre Dame. Both schools will make the NCAA Tournament but the Seminoles are trying to win the ACC regular-season title and the Irish hoping for a Top-4 finish and double-bye in the conference tournament. The Irish are likely to be small NCAAB odds favorites in college hoops wagers.

Florida State at Notre Dame Odds, Free Pick & TV Info

When: Saturday, Feb. 11, 6 PM ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion, South Bend
TV: ESPN
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: FSU / Notre Dame
Opening NCAAB Lines: TBA

Why Bet On Florida State?

The Seminoles crushed NC State 95-71 on Wednesday. Three days removed from a quiet outing against Clemson, FSU star freshman Jonathan Isaac roared back with 21 points and seven rebounds. Isaac outdueled NC State freshman Dennis Smith Jr., a potential lottery pick who matched a season-low with just eight points. Led by an aggressive effort from Xavier Rathan-Mayes, the Seminoles harassed and hounded Smith all night, often bringing a second defender to double-team him even as he carried the ball down the floor.

Dwayne Bacon added 19 points and nine rebounds, and Terance Mann flirted with a double-double (eight points, 10 boards) for FSU, which has won three straight to improve to 21-4 overall and 9-3 in the ACC. With six games to play, the Seminoles have already surpassed their conference win total from each of the last two seasons. That’s thanks in large part to an overwhelming advantage on the glass, where FSU outrebounded the Wolfpack 49-25 and turned 21 offensive boards into 19 second-chance points.

The Seminoles average 20.1 transition points per game, most in the ACC. Isaac has six double-doubles in conference play, most among ACC freshmen. Florida State averages 38.6 paint points per game, second in the ACC and fifth among major-conference teams.

Florida State is ranked No. 6 in the latest NCAA Men’s Basketball RPI Ranking. The Seminoles are 1-1 against their two top-10 opponents with a victory over No. 3 Louisville; 4-1 against their top 20 opponents with victories over No. 12 Florida, No. 14 Virginia and No. 19 Duke; 5-1 against their top-25 with a victory over No. 24 Minnesota; and 9-1 over teams currently in the top-50 with victories over Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Clemson.

Isaac – one of the elite freshman in all of college basketball – is the overall freshmen leader and ranks among the top 10 in overall ACC players in four different statistical categories. His is the freshman leader in blocked shots (and ranks fifth overall among all ACC players) free throw shooting percentage (and ranks sixth overall), defensive rebounds (and ranks sixth among all ACC players) and rebounding (where he ranked eighth among all ACC players). Only Isaac and NC State’s Smith. Jr. rank as ACC freshmen leaders and among the top 10 of all ACC players in four statistical categories.

Why Bet On Notre Dame?

The Irish (18-7, 7-5) beat Wake Forest 88-81 on Tuesday. It wasn’t the blowout win Notre Dame had hoped for. But after four straight losses and falling out of the top 25, the Irish would take any victory they could get.

Bonzie Colson did everything for the Irish as he Colson finished with a season-high 27 points to go along with a team-best 16 rebounds and five blocks. The Irish had four players finish with 15 or more points, as senior forward V.J. Beachem scored 19 points, senior guard Steve Vasturia poured in 17 and junior guard Matt Farrell added 16 points in the victory. Colson now has five games of 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds this season. The performance marked his ACC-best 15th double-double of the season and 19th of his career.

Notre Dame’s second half performance from distance carried the team to the win, as the Irish knocked down 9-of- 14 from beyond the arc. Four players managed to connect on two or more threes, as Beachem led the way with three in the final 20 minutes. Notre Dame blocked eight shots in the first half against Wake Forest, the most the program has ever recorded in the opening 20 minutes of an ACC game.

Colson has been named to the Late Season Top 20 list as the 2017 John R. Wooden Award continues to pare down the list of candidates for its player-of- the-year trophy. Colson, who leads the ACC inrebounds per game (10.8) and double-doubles (15) while leading the Fighting Irish in scoring (16.1 points-per- game), is one of two players to appear in the Late Season Top 20 who were not on the Midseason Top 25.

The Irish look for payback after losing 83-80 at Florida State on Jan. 18. FSU used a late 11-1 run to get the win. Isaac scored nine of his 23 points during the run, including two 3-pointers. He had 10 rebounds and seven blocks in the game as well. The Fighting Irish, who had their seven-game winning streak snapped at the time, were 15 of 21 from 3-point range and made nine in the second half to remain in the game. Rex Pfluegger brought Notre Dame within 79-77 with 17 seconds remaining with a 3-pointer but CJ Walker made two free throws to put the Seminoles up by four.