The Florida State Seminoles haven't had a team anywhere near this good in quite some time. Leonard Hamilton's crew is going to be back at it on Wednesday night in Tallahassee in a game that would historically give this club some issues. The N.C. State Wolfpack have already gone on the road and beaten Duke this year, so the Noles had better be careful if they're thinking that this game is going to be as easy as the one they had last Sunday against Clemson.
Don't miss the action on the hardwood from the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 8, 2016. Catch every moment of the game live on ESPN2.
We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Wednesday schedule.
Odds Analysis
After picking up the biggest win in the program's history in an ACC game on Sunday, the Seminoles are sure to be double-digits favorites for the first time in a while at home. In fact, that hasn't been the case yet this season in conference play. The Noles have had a brutally tough home docket this year that has included games against Virginia Tech, Duke, Notre Dame, Louisville and Clemson, and this is surely the easiest game of that bunch.
As far as the Wolfpack are concerned, they're used to being in the role of the big dogs. They were +16.5 when they upset Duke at Cameron Indoor a few weeks back. Of course, they were also +13 at North Carolina when they were beaten down 107-56.
Makin' Bacon
Is there a man on N.C. State who can guard Dwayne Bacon? Bacon was absolutely on fire against Clemson on Sunday, pouring in 29 points and hitting a three-pointer towards the end of the game with his foot inside the giant Seminole head sitting at center court. He's only got 46 threes this year, but we know he can be a cold-blooded assassin from deep when he gets going.
What really makes Bacon so hard to guard is the fact that he's 6-foot-7 and can play like a power forward even though he's clearly a shooting guard and will be a big guard at the next level as well.
The good news for the Wolfpack though, is that they do have some size. Everyone on the floor in the starting five is at least 6-foot-3, and Abdul-Malik Abu could have the speed and the size to be able to defend against Bacon and force him to play some defense on the other end of the court.
Defensive Woes of the Wolfpack
The Wolfpack can score. No two ways around that. Dennis Smith Jr., Terry Henderson and Maverick Rowan are all lethal outside shooters, and they're combining to average over 46 points per game on average.
But the real question we have in this game is whether the Wolfpack can make any headway defensively. They rank No. 311 in the nation at 78.9 points per game allowed, and they have conceded at least 82 points in five straight games in conference, including giving up 84 and 100 to Miami and Syracuse respectively in what amounted to be winnable home games in Raleigh. On the road this year, we've already seen the Pack concede 107 to North Carolina, so we know that it's going to be a real challenge to hold FSU in the 70s in this one.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Though we find it hard to bet against FSU, this NCSU team has the same look that Georgia Tech did. The Yellow Jackets pounded the then No. 6 Noles in Atlanta. Though there's a big difference between playing in Atlanta and playing in Tallahassee, the Seminoles could still be in for a heck of a lot more of a fight than they were planning on. This is a trap game ahead of the roadie at Notre Dame that will probably be survived, but we'll still be taking the points with the Wolfpack.
College Basketball Odds: Florida State 78, N.C. State 73
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