One of the best games on Friday in the NCAA Tournament should be the evening contest in the West Region as 9th seeded Florida State takes on 8th seeded Gonzaga. It is a matchup of the high scoring Bulldogs against the tough defense of the Seminoles. Gonzaga scores over 77 points per game while Florida State allows just over 60 points per contest. The Seminoles are #1 in the country in field goal percentage defense at 37.4 percent. “They’re a phenomenal defensive team,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “That [37.4] figure just jumps out at you.”
Florida State is a 1.5 point favorite with a total of 132 at SBG Global.
Florida State is led by ACC Defensive Player of the Year Chris Singleton while Gonzaga has West Coast Conference Player of the Year Matt Bouldin.
Both teams come into this game off a loss. The Seminoles lost in the first round of the ACC Tournament to NC State while Gonzaga was beaten by St. Mary’s in the WCC title game.
Wake Forest has gotten the action on the college basketball odds board but it is a mystery as to why. Gonzaga has the experience, some talented players and an excellent head coach. Bouldin is their leading scorer and he is supported by WCC Newcomer of the Year Elias Harris.
Florida State wins with defense. They are a big team that is tough to score against. The problem for Florida State has been offense as they have scored fewer than 60 points in seven games. They also turn the ball over a lot and that is a problem. If the game is close the Seminoles could be in trouble since they are a very poor free throw shooting team.
Florida State has not been a good team vs. the college basketball odds recently. The Seminoles are just 8-20 ATS in their last 28 games overall.
Florida State has gone under the total in 19 of their last 26 neutral site games. Gonzaga is a team that goes over the total. 12 of their last 15 non-conference games have gone over. In the NCAA Tourney, 16 of their last 21 games have gone over.
