The No. 4 Duke Blue Devils (12-1, 0-1 ACC) look to lengthen their eight-game home winning streak in a matchup against the No. 24 Florida State Seminoles (9-1) at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Action begins at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 30, 2017.
Florida State Seminoles vs. Duke Blue Devils ATS Preview
In the Seminoles last matchup, they won big over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, 98-45. With seven points, 12 assists and six rebounds, Florida State’s Trent Forrest had a solid game. Florida State played a nearly perfect game. They had a fantastic effective field goal percentage of 0.705 (above their season average of 0.558) and an offensive rebounding percentage of 25.0 (below their season average of 37.4). Southern Miss put up marks of 0.328 and 16.7, respectively, for those same stats.
The Blue Devils come in on a high note after blowing out the Evansville Aces in their last outing, 104-40. Duke received a boost from Wendell Carter Jr. who was the games leading scorer with 27 points on 9-for-15 shooting. Duke played a flawless game. They had an absurdly low turnover percentage of 6.8 (better than their season average of 13.5) and an effective field goal percentage of 0.746 (above their season average of 0.565). For those same stats, Evansville was 28.5 and 0.350, respectively.
The game should be a battle of strength against strength as the high-powered offense of Duke (first in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 127.5) takes on the top-notch defense of Florida State (11th in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 88.9). Moreover, the Seminoles, who rank 288th in free throw attempt (FTA) rate (0.199), could struggle to get to the line against the Blue Devils, who rank 14th in opponents FTA rate (0.159).
This will be the first matchup of the year between these two teams, after splitting two games last season. In the most recent game, the Blue Devils won 75-70. Duke did a great job of making free throws (14-19; 73.7 percent). Florida State, on the other hand, had a better turnover percentage (14.2 vs. 17.2).
Florida State Seminoles vs. Duke Blue Devils Odds Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Florida State, ATS Winner – Florida State, O/U – Over
Betting Notes:
- The Blue Devils rank 15th in steals allowed per game (4.6) while the Seminoles rank 91st (6.3).
- Florida State is second in the nation with 1.7 blocks allowed per game while Duke is 22nd with 2.3 blocks allowed per game.
- Florida State ranks 27th in assists allowed per game (10.7) while Duke ranks 168th (14.3).
- The Blue Devils rank second in rebounds per game (44.7) while the Seminoles rank 136th in rebounds allowed per game (34.9).
- Florida State averages 23.9 three pointers per game, which ranks 94th in the NCAA. Duke ranks 200th in three pointers allowed per game (24.5).
Bettings Trends:
- The Blue Devils average margin of victory in their last five games has been 28.4, up from 21.7 for the season.
- During their last five games, the Seminoles have scored an average of 81.0 points per game (5.4 below their season average) and allowed an average of 59.6 points per game (6.5 below their season average).
