Florida State (16-14, 9-8 ACC) won’t make the NCAA Tournament unless they win the ACC Tournament. However, the Noles are one of the hottest teams in the country over the past 10 games, and avenging a previous loss against SMU would be a perfect end to the regular season.
A win over SMU would cement FSU as the No. 8 seed in the ACC Tournament, but they could move into the No. 7 spot with some help from other teams on Saturday.
FSU lost to SMU 83-80 near the end of January before FSU found its current form. However, that game showed they were heading in the right direction after they had just upset the Miami Hurricanes. The Noles had a one-point lead with fewer than four minutes to go in the game, but couldn’t make the winning plays down the stretch.
They have been playing much better overall since then, and a win would give them their best record in ACC play since the 2020-21 season.
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The Noles will enter the game as slight betting favorites at -1.5 points, according to Fanduel. The over/under is 160.5 points, so the oddsmakers expect another high-scoring affair. SMU could be without guard B.J. Edwards, as he's been hurt over the past three games, and SMU has lost all three.
It’ll be the final home game for the Noles, and we hope to see the Tucker Center packed again like it was for the Miami game.
The game will start at 2 p.m. and will air on The ACC Network.