FSU basketball: Win over Notre Dame clinches ACC regular season title

No. 11 FSU basketball (15-4, 10-3 ACC) will clinch its second consecutive ACC regular-season title with a win over Notre Dame (9-14, 6-11).

The Noles can clinch the title outright if Virginia loses against Louisville later Saturday afternoon, but beating Notre Dame will make it that much more satisfying.

The Noles enter the game as -7 point road favorites, and this will be the first time these two teams have squared off this season.

FSU comes off a 29 point destruction of Boston College in their lasting outing, with Notre Dame losing four straight and falling against NC State by 11 points Wednesday night.

The Fighting Irish don’t turn it over much, averaging 10.3 turnovers, and have a couple of guys that shoot the three-pointer well.

FSU should enjoy an advantage on the boards, and FSU is the better shooting team overall. The key to the game, as are most FSU games against inferior opponents, is how motivated will the Noles be Saturday afternoon?

We saw that motivation on Senior Night, as the Noles buried Boston College early. The same effort may be present Saturday, knowing the ACC Regular Season Title would be won outright in back-to-back seasons for the first time in FSU basketball history.

Good things happen for the Noles when they play with great energy. It’s a game the Noles should win, but I’m surprised the betting line isn’t larger. However, Notre Dame has some close losses against some teams.

• Ohio State-Lost by 5
• North Carolina-Lost by 1
• Virginia-Lost by 9

Most of those games have a common theme, with their two leading scorers Nate Laszewski and Prentiss Hubb having huge games. Both can shoot the three-pointer well, and the Noles will need to keep them in check to avoid the potential upset.

Boston College began the game hot from three-point range, but the Noles settled defensively, and those shots stop falling as often.

The game will air on ESPN2 with a noon tipoff.