Florida State basketball (18-14) took care of business against the California Bears on Wednesday night to earn a shot at the No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils (29-2) in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament on Thursday at 7 p.m.
The two teams played earlier this year, with Duke traveling to Tallahassee as -16.5 betting favorites. The game was before FSU turned its season around, and Duke managed to win the game 91-87. It was a close game the whole time as FSU led about midway in the second half and was only down three points with under four minutes left in the game.
That's a huge betting line with Duke's injuries and FSU playing well
Duke will be down TWO starters in Thursday’s game, and FSU is playing like one of the top teams in the country, winning 10 of its last 12 games. However, the oddsmakers at Fanduel.com must know something we don’t because they are giving FSU no shot to upset the Blue Devils on Thursday night.
FSU is a crazy +18.5 betting underdog for Thursday’s game. I understand the game is in Duke’s backyard, but it won’t be on their home court.
My usual sentiment is when things look too good to be true, they usually are. However, I was surprised to see the betting line THAT high, considering their injury issues and how the first game went when FSU wasn't playing great overall.
FSU will have a lot of confidence going into the game, but Duke will have an advantage on the boards and in the paint. The Noles shot the ball extremely well agaisnt California, especially from three-point land. That's something they haven't done as well most of this season, and they'll probably need another great shooting night to pull off the upset outright.
This betting line screams stay away from FSU, but it's still a big number to cover, even for a talented Duke team. The good news is that we'll find out in less than 24 hours!