The ACC will be one of the toughest-contested conferences in college basketball this year, and the Florida State Seminoles will undoubtedly face several tough opponents. In order to give themselves a chance at hanging with the best in the league, they need to start off well, which starts with an intriguing matchup against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Both teams started off nicely in the non-conference season and hope to keep it up in order to punch their ticket to March Madness. Florida State is nationally ranked and plays this game at home so it will certainly be the favored team.
This war on the floor will go down Wednesday, December 28, 2016, at 5 p.m. ET at the Donald L. Tucker Center. 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 Wednesday schedule.
Odds at BookMaker.eu
Florida State is 12-1 straight up and 9-4 against the spread. The Seminoles have covered in seven of their nine home games this season and are 9-4 against the spread as the favorites.
Wake Forest is 9-3 straight up and 8-4 against the spread. The Demon Deacons have played in four true road games this season and have covered in a pair of them. Wake Forest is used to being the favorite with only three games as the underdog. The Demon Deacons have covered once among those attempts.
Key Stat
88.1. That’s how many points per game Florida State’s offense is averaging so far this year behind Dwayne Bacon, Jonathan Isaac and Xavier Rathan-Mayes. The team ranks thirteenth in the nation for points a game behind that trio.
Bacon is averaging 16.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest. Isaac is adding 12.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. Rathan-Mayes is contributing 10.0 points and 4.8 assists per contest.
Florida State has played in three games where the offense broke 100 points this year, including scoring a season-high 118 points against Nicholls on December 8. The Seminoles are averaging 5.2 more points a game than the Demon Deacons this season with Bacon leading the team in scoring with 16.9 points a game.
Player to Watch
John Collins – The Wake Forest sophomore forward is leading the team in scoring and rebounds this season, averaging 17.3 points per game and 10.4 rebounds a game. In the Demon Deacons’ most recent matchup against LSU, Collins had 15 points and six rebounds.
He had a season-high 24 points in the team’s win over UTEP last month and has scored 20-plus points against two additional opponents this season. Collins is also a difference-maker off the boards, using his height to his advantage this year.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Wake Forest has a pretty good record but has lost to a pair of ranked opponents. The Demon Deacons were blown out by No. 1 Villanova but fared much better against a ranked Xavier team.
Wake Forest may be able to hang around in this one but Florida State is the better team. The Seminoles have defeated several high-major foes, including a ranked Florida team, and are looking to be a player in conference.
That won’t be easy with Duke, North Carolina and Louisville among the opponents on the schedule. Florida State will have little margin for error to stay near the top of the ACC standings and this one is essential at home against a team it should beat.
Go with the Seminoles to hold off Wake Forest to keep their hot start going. The Demon Deacons are a solid team but not quite good enough to pull off this upset on the road.
College Basketball Odds: Florida State 81, Wake Forest 70
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