It’s hard to believe North Carolina won’t be the favorite playing at home, but it’s impossible to count out the Seminoles based on how well they have been playing.
This war on the floor will go down Saturday, January 14, 2017, at 2 p.m. ET at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The game will be televised live on ESPN.
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Florida State is 16-1 straight up and 13-4 against the spread. The Seminoles have only played one true road game this season but showed up impressively in that one, knocking off a ranked Virginia team within the past few weeks. Florida State has only been an underdog once this season but did cover.
North Carolina is 14-3 straight up and 10-7 against the spread. The Tar Heels have played eight home games and have performed well in them, covering six times. North Carolina is 10-6 against the spread as the favorite and figures to be one again.
Key Stat
45.9. Statistically, these two teams are fairly evenly matched across the board, but the Tar Heels have the edge when it comes to rebounding with 45.9 per game. The team leads the nation, in fact, in rebounding.
Senior forward Kennedy Meeks is the leading rebounder this season, averaging 9.6 per game. He had 16 rebounds in North Carolina’s recent overtime victory over Clemson, which is tied for his season best.
Florida State is averaging 38.9 rebounds a game coming into this contest. The Seminoles will likely need to shoot better than North Carolina in order to spring this upset, but they have consistently done that of late to help spur their impressive run.
Scheduling Situation
This is without question the toughest portion of Florida State’s schedule. The Seminoles are in the midst of a stretch of games that includes matchups against six nationally ranked teams.
Florida State edged out No. 12 Virginia on December 31st, defeated No. 21 Virginia Tech decisively on January 7th and then defeated Duke this week. The Seminoles also captured a 83-78 win over rival No. 21 Florida State on December 11th.
After Saturday’s clash with North Carolina, Florida State heads back home to take on No. 20 Notre Dame and No. 14 Louisville. Facing this much talent in back-to-back fashion like this isn’t easy, but Florida State is sure making it look that way thus far with a 4-0 record against ranked teams.
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The Tar Heels haven’t been as impressive as they have been in past years, but are still hanging around the top-10 and have the talent to make a run in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Florida State would love to knock them off, but at some point the pressure of so many big games may wear down the Seminoles. Florida State should be able to finish this stretch feeling good and with a winning record, but on this night it will be too tough.
North Carolina is at home and knows how much a victory would mean. Florida State has zoomed into the top five but it will be nearly impossible to navigate this entire stretch unscathed. Take the Tar Heels to pick up this victory although Florida State should give them a good game.
College Basketball Odds: North Carolina 86, Florida State 81
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