Check out our free Syracuse vs Florida State pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Tallahassee. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.

Syracuse vs Florida State Pick & Preview: Wednesday, February 8th Betting Odds

Orange vs Seminoles Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: Syracuse Orange at Florida State Seminoles
  • Where: Tallahassee at Donald L. Tucker Center
  • Date: Wednesday, February 8th
  • Betting Odds: Syracuse -2, SYRA -137 | FLST +112 O/U 149.5

Orange Preview:

Heading into today’s matchup vs Florida State, the Syracuse Orange will be taking the floor for the 25th time this season and have an overall record of 14-10. So far, the Orange have played 9 games on the road, with a record of 4-5. This season, Syracuse has been favored to win in 15 games, sitting with a mark of 12-3. For today’s contest, Syracuse has a betting line set -2 points in their favor.

Syracuse will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Joseph Girard III who is averaging 16.62 points per game for the Orange. III is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Orange’s offensive game plan is the play of Judah Mintz who has hit 43.7% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 15.42 points per game.

So far this season, Syracuse has put together a strong scoring offense at 77.4 points per game (48th). This strong figure has come despite the Orange playing at a slow tempo compared to other schools. For the season, they have hit 37.7% of their shots from outside, which is closer to the NCAA average. Syracuse’s overall field goal percentage currently sits at 45.0%

Seminoles Preview:

Florida State will take the floor against the Orange with an overall record of 8-16. Currently, the Seminoles have been the home team 13 times, sitting with a record of 5-8. So far, the Seminoles have been the underdog 15 times, going 3-12 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +2 underdogs on the spread.

Matthew Cleveland comes into today’s game as the Seminoles’ leading scorer at 14.17 points per contest. Not only has Cleveland been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Florida State’s top rebounder at 7.67 boards per contest. Behind Cleveland, the team has benefited from the strong play of Darin Green Jr, who is second on the team in scoring at 13.96 points per game. Overall, he has hit 41.9% of his shots and is adding 3.08 boards per game.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for Florida State this season, as they are currently ranked 198th in college basketball at 71.0 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Seminoles’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 33.1%, placing them 318th in the NCAA.

Free Spread Prediction: Florida State Seminoles +2

After boiling down all the statistics and trends, it is clear why the oddsmakers have placed the Syracuse Orange as the favorites to win. Not only do the Florida State Seminoles have a mediocre record vs the spread at home of late 3-7, but Syracuse also has the statistical edge in 3-pointers made per game and overall field goal percentage. Yet, our model shows that the current odds of -2 in favor of the Orange is too high and there is good value on grabbing Florida State vs the spread. While most bettors will likely be piling on the Syracuse Orange as the favorite, we full good about taking the oppsite side and grabbing Florida State taking the points.