FSU Basketball Preview: Noles Face Notre Dame in Huge ACC Contest

FSU basketball travels to South Bend, Indiana to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday looking for a series sweep.

It’s been a good week so far for FSU basketball. On Wednesday, they held future NBA star Dennis Smith Jr. to eight points in a 95-71 win over the NC State Wolfpack.

Now, they travel to South Bend to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the second time this season. The first time the two teams faced off, it was a memorable game. The Irish were absolutely on fire from three and somehow still managed to lose.

Since the teams last met, both programs have trended in different directions. The Seminoles are tied for the lead in the ACC at 9-3. While Notre Dame has lost five of their last seven games.

Still, won’t be an easy game. The Irish are experienced and have one of the most efficient offenses in the country. Plus, the whole ACC road game thing.

Let’s get to it and preview Notre Dame – Florida State round two.

Last Time the ‘Noles Took the Court

As I mentioned, Wednesday night was solid for FSU. They crushed their second consecutive ACC foe. The Wolfpack were clearly the inferior team, and Florida State did what they were supposed to. Which was win big.

If you’d like a more detailed recap, feel free to click right over here. Aside from that, there isn’t much else to surmise from that game. NC State is bad. FSU is the opposite.

Florida State Seminoles Basketball

Opponent Preview

Notre Dame is the 25th-best team in the country according to KenPom. They have the 15th-most efficient offense and the 66th defense, and allow 69 points per game.

The Irish are coming off an eight point win over Wake Forest. Before that, they had lost four games in a row. Three of the four teams ranked, and the fourth was a hot Georgia Tech team. No shame in that.

If you’d like a detailed breakdown of the players to watch out for, check out this excerpt from the last time the two teams faced off.

"ND is led by junior forward Bonzie Colson (a guy Florida State heavily recruited). Colson is a tough, old-school type of big man, who scores 16 points on average, to go with 11 rebounds, a block, and a steal. He’s also an 87 percent free-throw shooter. Yeah, he’s good.There’s also senior guard Steve Vasturia, averaging 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists per game. He’s a deadly shooter, who’s at 44 percent from three and 91 percent from the line. As a team, the Irish shoot 83 percent from the line (wow), so FSU’s defense will have to play hard but try to avoid fouling."

I think they remember what happened when the teams met in Tallahassee, so that does cause some concern. We’ll see what happens.

Point Spread/How to Watch

Vegas echoes my sentiments, as they have the Irish as a -1 point favorite over the Seminoles.

To watch the game, just tune into ESPN at 6 PM. Go ‘Noles!