FSU basketball: Noles big betting favorites to avenge Pittsburgh loss

FSU basketball will be out to avenge its first loss of the season against the Pittsburgh Panthers. They are big betting favorites in the rematch.

No. 8 FSU basketball (21-4, 11-3 ACC) is coming off a hard-fought victory over Syracuse while playing without their leading scorer Devin Vassell.

They’ll look to avenge their opening season loss against the Pittsburgh Panthers (15-11, 6-9 ACC) who’ve lost three of their last five games.

FSU basketball has won four of its last five with the lone loss coming against ACC leading Duke on the road last week.

Oddsmakers have the Noles as big betting favorites to avenge the loss according to the Action Network.

Thoughts

The Noles are the better all-around team as the opening game loss was weird from the standpoint Pittsburgh shot 31 free throws compared to just 15 for the Noles. Pittsburgh outscored the Noles 21-13 from the charity stripe in the 63-61 loss.

The Panthers only go about seven players deep on their bench while shooting just 41 percent from the floor overall and 30 percent from three-point range. They do average a decent amount of steals per game at 7.5, and only average 11.7 turnovers themselves.

It’s a game the Noles should win fairly convincingly, especially if Devin Vassell is back in the starting lineup after missing the Syracuse game for unknown reasons.

The importance of the next two games can’t be understated with the Noles taking on Louisville next week.

FSU basketball is essentially playing for the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament with their loss to Duke last week. They already hold a win over Louisville, so defeating them next week while winning the rest of their games locks up that spot and the double-bye.

A deep run in the ACC Tournament or the real possibility of winning it will put the Noles in a favorable position to get a high seed in the NCAA Tournament come March. The ‘Noles game against Pittsburgh will air on the ACC Network with tip-off slated for 8 p.m. ET.