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Duke Blue Devils vs. Florida St. Seminoles NCAAB Free Pick + Gambling Preview

ACC Quarterfinals – Seminoles vs Blue Devils

The Duke Blue Devils don’t need to win the ACC tournament to punch their ticket to the Big Dance but they are headed in that direction anyway.   

ACC Semifinal
Duke Blue Devils (27-5) vs Florida State Seminoles (22-9)
Saturday March 10
Philips Arena – Atlanta, GA
3:00PM
Moneyline:  No line currently listed
Spread:  No line currently listed
O/U:  No line currently listed

Matchup | Preview

Duke

Friday they toughed out a 4 point win against Virginia Tech without forward Ryan Kelly.  The offense was very sluggish, shooting an awful 5 for 26 from the three point line but you are going to win most of the time when you give up only 56 points.  They have a really good shot to advance if they can put together a similar defensive effort on Saturday against a team not known for scoring.

When they need a bucket the Blue Devils rely on scoring frosh Austin Rivers.  Rivers led with 17 points against the Hokies.  The amazing figures from that game though were courtesy of guard Tyler Thornton.  He got a little more playing time than usual and jacked up 16 shots, more than twice than he has taken in any game this year (including 13 3 point attempts with just three makes).  Clearly the game plan was to make him beat them and he couldn’t.  The philosophy is sound but I expect Thornton to be a little gun shy next time out.  [soliloquy id=”82219″]

Florida State

The Florida State Seminoles are a hard team to play against.  They battle you all day long defensively and sometimes it looks like their opponents lose interest in scoring the ball.  They made it to the Semis by beating in state rival Miami, another team that can grind you down.  They should definitely be excited to get another crack at Duke as they really seem to relish being the underdog in the ACC.

With Kelly out the Seminoles will have one less offensive threat to worry about on Saturday.  That is good because their offense has been prone to stall.  At the same time they also seem to be able make big shots when they need them the most.  Against Miami their best shot maker was guard Michael Snaer.  He has oodles of talent but can be very streaky.  The key for him will be mixing up his game inside and out and playing solid defense on Austin Rivers.  No easy task.

Spread Pick:
O/U Pick:
Score Prediction:  Florida State 67 – Duke 61

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By The Wiesguy

The Wiesguy is a newcomer to the handicapping scene. Hailing from Toronto, Canada he is always sweet on the underdogs and you can often find his thoughts, musings and picks at moneydogs.blogspot.com.