No. 22 Florida State Seminoles at Virginia Cavaliers
Thursday, 3/1/12, 7:00 PM EST, TV: ESPN2
Opening Point Spread: Virginia -5
Current Betting Line: Virginia -4
Opening Total: 113.5
Current Total: 116
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Florida State has won 10 of its last 13 games and travels to play Virginia inside the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville on Thursday night. The Seminoles have two regular season games remaining before traveling to Atlanta, GA to play in the 60th annual Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. The program will try and avoid losing three straight conference games for the first time since Jan. 26-Feb. 3, 2008. “In both of those games, those teams shot exceptionally well,” commented Seminoles head coach Leonard Hamilton. Florida State is 0-5 ATS the last two-plus years when playing in a game with a total of 119.5 or less.
The Seminoles are led by All-ACC candidate Michael Snaer, who ranks 11th in the conference in averaging a career-high 13.9 points per game. Florida State enters this particular contest with a 3-3 record against nationally-ranked teams. The program can clinch a first-round by in the ACC tournament with a win in this particular affair. Defensively, the team will need to focus on Virginia guard Joe Harris, who has averaged 16.5 points in two career games in this series.
Virginia will be playing its final regular-season home games and look for its second win over a ranked opponent this season. The Cavaliers will be saying good bye to three seniors, including leading scorer and rebounder Mike Scott, who comes in averaging 16.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett has led the team to a 35-14 home record during his time on campus. Virginia is 10-6 ATS as a favorite this year and the “under” is 13-4 in that situation.
The Cavaliers will be aiming to score at least 70 points in this contest, posting a 24-2 mark during the Bennett era when doing so. Virginia has held 11 opponents this season to under 50 points, which is the most by an ACC team in the shot clock era. The squad is second nationally in scoring defense and has held five opponents under 30 percent shooting this season. Scott is certainly the player to watch, ranking in the top 10 among conference players in scoring and rebounding.
Bettors will likely back the Seminoles due to their 5-0 ATS mark in their last five meetings in this series, while the Cavaliers are 2-5 ATS as a home favorite.
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