Thursday night in CBB we will see the 4th ranked Duke Blue Devils travel to Tallahassee to take on the 16th ranked Florida State Seminoles. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm tipoff and will be televised live on ESPN. Currently Duke is favored by 2 points with the total being set at 139 for the game.
Free Analysis: The first place picture in the Atlantic Coast Conference will get a little clearer tonight as the fifth-ranked Duke Blue Devils head to the Donald L. Tucker Center to square off with the 15th-ranked Florida State Seminoles in what will send one team into third place and keep the other tied for the top spot in the league standings. This will be the second encounter between Duke and the Seminoles this season and the 38th meeting in history. Although the Blue Devils hold a 30-7 lead in the all-time series, Florida State has all the momentum after its dramatic 76-73 victory in their last battle, which took place on Jan. 21st last month at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Michael Snaer made national headlines in the first bout by hitting a game-winning three-pointer as time expired to snap Duke's 64-game home winning streak against unranked opponents. Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils won their fourth in a row on Sunday as they bested the Boston College Eagles 75-50 in Chestnut Hill. The victory made Duke 23-4 overall and 10-2 in ACC play. Duke has one of the most dynamic backcourts in the nation as Seth Curry (13.6 ppg & 39.8% from long range) and Austin Rivers (15 ppg & 39.8% from long range) are virtually impossible to contain. In their last meeting, Rivers was on point, scoring 19 points, but he did only have one assist. He may need to step it up a bit more tonight. Mason Plumlee is near a double-double average as he is scoring 11.2 points and grabbing 9.7 boards per game. Duke has won of the best offenses in the nation, as it is netting 79.5 ppg while allowing opponents to average 68.6 ppg. Leonard Hamilton has to be a serious COY candidate after leading FSU to a 19-7 overall record. The Seminoles kept pace in the ACC race by defeating NC State 76-62 to improve to 10-2 in league action on Saturday.The Seminoles have been great on both ends of the floor all season as they are netting 70.0 ppg while limiting opponents to 60.8 ppg and they are led by Snaer, the man who buried Duke earlier this season. The junior shooting guard leads the team with 13.5 ppg, and has since hit another game-winning shot as he hit a go-ahead three-pointer with seconds remaining to give FSU a 48-47 victory over Virginia Tech on Feb. 16th. Bernard James, Okara White, and Bernard Gibson all play vital roles for FSU as well. James is grabbing 8.2 boards per game. Deividas Dulkys, although quiet as of late, can be dangerous as he showed earlier this season with a 32-point outing on a remarkable 12-of-14 shooting performance against North Carolina. they have also benefited immensely from the emergence of sophomore guard Ian Miller. Miller, who missed the first 11 games because of academic issues, is averaging 12.7 points off the bench over the last four games. And a little side stat here just in case FT's be come an issue. Florida State (18.8) and Duke (18.3) are the two most foul-prone teams in the ACC, respectively. The Seminoles are the slightly better free throw shooting team though (70.2 to 69.6).
Free Pick: Don't look now, but the Dukies are starting to play really good ball right now, ands it started with that road win over Carolina. Duke is now 23-4 on the year and at 10-2 they are currently tied for 2nd place in the ACC with the Noles. Duke has 2 home losses on the year, which is Rare for them, and one of those losses was on a last second 3 pointer by the Noles. Duke has won 4 in a row now and they are 6-0 in ACC road games , which has included wins at North Carolina, Va Tech and Clemson. The Noles continue to play well, but they have recently lost at Boston College and they needed a big comeback to win at home vs Va Tech, plus they struggled at home vs Miami as well. Alll of that in their last 4 games. FSU does have a solid defensive edge, but the Dukies have a solid offensive edge, they are playing with revenge and are starting to look like a team that is ready for a deep run in the NCAA tourney. I expect a Duke win of 7+ here.
Free Picks: Duke at Florida State Betting
http://PregameVideos.com - Florida State is the hottest team in ACC and Can they Pull Season Sweep over Duke plus other factors college basketball bettors need to know about Duke at Florida State (Thursday, February 23, 2012) from Pregame.com - Including predictions from and Scott Spreitzer analysis from host Marco D'Angelo.