Florida State basketball (5-4) has faced some stiff competition in its last three games, losing all three by double-digits. The Noles have been off the past week to finish final exams, but will host UMASS (7-3) on Saturday at noon.
The game will air on the ACC Network. FSU will enter the game as -10.5 betting favorites, with an over/under points total of 159.5, according to Fanduel.com. Those odds imply an 85-75 Florida State win.
UMASS has won four consecutive games, including a two-point win over Boston College of the ACC. However, there’s a reason FSU is a double-digit betting favorite for a reason. The Minutemen have four guys averaging double figures. They only shoot three-pointers about 34 percent of the time and make 33 percent of those. They make 64 percent of their free throws and shoot 46 percent from the floor overall.
One area FSU will look to exploit and that’s UMASS averaging 14 turnovers per game. FSU had been unable to force the better teams they faced into turnovers and convert those opportunities into points. This should be a game where they can take advantage of a team’s weakness.
I know it’s Luke Loucks' philosophy to continue shooting tons of three-pointers, but I hope we’ll see a more measured approach in this contest. FSU must find other ways to put up points in the games when those shots aren’t falling, and that’s been most of the time lately. FSU has some winnable games over the next week before entering ACC play in back-to-back games against North Carolina and Duke. Here’s to hoping they can figure out some of their issues to play better basketball than the past few games.