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Things have not gone well lately for the Florida State Seminoles. Florida State looked like it could make some noise in the ACC during non-conference play, but the Seminoles have cooled off over the past few weeks. The Noles are sitting at just 2-4 in conference play and have yet to win an ACC road game. They are hoping that they can break that streak when they travel north to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in a Saturday matinee game.
This war on the floor will go down Saturday, January 20, 2018, at 12 p.m. ET at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Although Florida State has underperformed in recent weeks, this has still been one of the better teams to back in college basketball. The Seminoles are 10-5-1 ATS on the season and are 6-3 ATS away from home.
However, this team has been a little bit lucky to get some covers in ACC play. The only reason FSU got the cover against Syracuse is because the game went to overtime, and the Seminoles were a little fortunate to pick up a win and cover against North Carolina too. Their typically stout defense has not been good lately leading to five overs cashing in their last seven games.
Virginia Tech has had its fair share of struggles too since starting conference play. The Hokies are sitting at 2-3 in conference and are just 1-4 ATS. They did pickup a nice road win against Wake Forest, but were not competitive in losses to Syracuse and Virginia.
Over has been a good bet in recent games for Virginia Tech. The Hokies have seen each of their last three go over, and the over is 10-4 on the year.
Key Stat
Only one team is shooting better than the Hokies this season. Defense characterized Virginia Tech in all sports for years, but this team relies on its offense to win games.
The Hokies are shooting 52 percent from the floor and only one of the players averaging double digits on this team is hitting under 50 percent of his shots. This team has a nice blend of good passing and players that can create their own shot when need be.
Kerry Blackshear Jr. is the most efficient shooter of the starters. The junior forward is a big body down low that has recovered well after a leg injury left him on the sidelines all of last season. Florida State does not have the size down low it did in years past, so Blackshear could have a big day.
Player to Watch
Terance Mann has emerged as Florida State’s go-to player this season. He is the Seminoles’ most efficient scorer and is the team’s primary ball handler too.
Mann is the motor of this team. He has been hit or miss since conference play started, but the team leaned on him in most of its big wins. He is hitting 59.4 percent of his field goals this season, yet has been unable to knock down threes when he looks to test his range. Mann is hitting just 30 percent of his three-pointers this year.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
This is just not a good position for the Seminoles. Florida State has not looked good on the road in ACC action and will have a tough time of it in Blacksburg. The Hokies have the size to beat them and will be able to find plenty of easy hoops with their big men. FSU’s only hope in this one is if Brian Angola has a great game. He’s done it before, but I don’t think he’ll be able to find that magic this time around.
College Basketball Odds: Virginia Tech 85, Florida State 77
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