FSU basketball: Can Noles beat Notre Dame for a second time?

FSU basketball (5-13, 3-4 ACC) only has five wins this season, but one came against Notre Dame (9-9, 1-6 ACC) about one month ago.

It’s a 73-72 victory in front of the home crowd, but the Noles will travel to South Bend Tuesday night for the rematch. Notre Dame enters the game as a -5.5 betting favorite, and the under/over points total implies a 73-68 victory for the Fighting Irish.

The Noles are 0-4 on the road this season, while Notre Dame is 9-3 at home. Matthew Cleveland had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds in the first matchup that remained close for the entire game. Notre Dame is a good perimeter shooting team but has a weakness in the paint.

FSU has exhibited poor perimeter defense lately, and that’s something they’ll need to rectify if they want to take the season series.

Both teams have fewer than 10 turnovers in the first matchup. Notre Dame went 9 of 19 from three-point land and made 51 percent of their shots overall. FSU shot 47 percent, made 7 of 22 three-point attempts, and held a five-point advantage at the free-throw line.

It’s not clear if Baba Miller will play as he missed the last game with tonsilitis. A lack of depth has been an issue for the Noles lately, so Miller’s availability could be huge.

Also, his length could be a factor on the defensive end. FSU needs to use the game formula from the first game, but defend Notre Dame’s three-point shooters better. FSU has won two of their last three, and Notre Dame has lost four of their last five.

The Noles don’t have too many winnable games left, so this would be a good opportunity to put another win on the board for the good guys. The game will air at 7 p.m. ET and will air on ESPNU.