The Florida State Seminoles will wrap up a brutal stretch of six straight games against ranked opponents this week. Few could have predicted how well they have fared thus far, and Florida State will look to cap it with a win over the Louisville Cardinals.
While Florida State is the home team, Louisville is a perennial power and ranked No. 12 nationally this season. The Seminoles may be slight favorites but this one could go either way. A win would keep Florida State atop the ACC but if the Cardinals can secure it, the standings get that much more muddled.
At 2 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Saturday, January 21, 2017, at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida.
We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
Odds at BookMaker.eu
Florida State is 16-2 straight up and 13-5 against the spread. The Seminoles have been lights out at home this year, covering in 10 of their 12 matchups. Florida State is 12-4 against the spread as the favorite and 1-1 as the underdog.
Louisville is 15-3 straight up and 11-5 against the spread. The Cardinals have played only two true road games, covering one and failing to do so in the other. Louisville is 9-4 against the spread as the favorite and has covered twice and failed to do so once as the underdog.
Lookahead Situation
The Seminoles have to be gazing at that schedule and waiting for it to let up a bit. Florida State has done fantastic thus far through this brutal stretch.
The Seminoles began by winning a squeaker over No. 12 Virginia and then dominated No. 21 Virginia Tech. Florida State had its most impressive win of this stretch next with a blowout of No. 7 Duke, before finally losing to No. 11 North Carolina on the road.
Florida State bounced back last time out against No. 10 Notre Dame, winning an 83-80 contest. It’s exceedingly rare to play six straight ranked teams in a row, but Florida State is doing it here and would love to emerge with a 5-1 record.
The Seminoles have risen to No. 10 in the national rankings and will go higher with a win in this one.
Injury Report
Louisville point guard Quentin Snider has an injured hip and is expected to miss two to three weeks. It’s a big blow for the Cardinals, as Snider is averaging 12.1 points per game and leading the team with 4.0 assists.
That will put more of the scoring onus on Donovan Mitchell, who is leading the team with 13.6 points per game while adding 5.1 rebounds. Deng Adel could also see his role expand, as he is averaging 10.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game and may see an increase in minutes now.
Snider should be back in time for the postseason, but the Cardinals will certainly miss such a key player as they battle for ACC supremacy against a loaded field.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Florida State didn’t enter the season with as much hype as its opponent in this one, but has turned heads with such impressive play throughout the year. Few could have seen such success against a boatload of ranked opponents, and the Seminoles are setting themselves up well for March Madness.
Even so, Louisville is a proven foe and will be a tough out. If Snider was healthy, the pick would be the Cardinals to get this win on the road. However, his absence will loom large and Florida State should be able to end this impressive stretch with another victory over a ranked opponent.
College Basketball Odds: Florida State 75, Louisville 74
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