Florida State vs. Gonzaga Bracket Prediction: March Madness Sweet 16 Odds
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Andrew Rogers
These teams met in the Sweet 16 last year, and the Seminoles rolled to a 75-60 victory. FSU is coming off an impressive defensive effort in a 90-62 rout of Ja Morant-led Murray State.
Florida State (4) vs. Gonzaga (1) NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
As good as the Seminoles looked last time out, oddsmakers aren’t giving them much of a shot at beating the current No. 2 favourite to win the national championship. But while Gonzaga is a good bet to prevail, the cover is a different story altogether: The Bulldogs are just 3-8-1 ATS in their previous 12 NCAA Tournament games, and have only one successful cover (along with one push) in their past eight meetings with Atlantic Coast Conference teams.
Gonzaga totals have been among the highest of any top team in the country (which is expected given that the Bulldogs lead the nation in scoring average), but the Bulldogs have been a strong under option at March Madness with a 5-11 O/U mark over their past 16 tournament games. They’re also 8-2 to the under in the past 10 games vs. ACC opponents. The Seminoles, on the other hand, are 6-0 O/U in their previous six non-conference outings.
Florida State Seminoles
The Seminoles had a tangible game plan against the Racers, and it worked to perfection. Morant finished with a game-high 28 points but needed 21 shots to get there – and the tactic of letting the rest of the Murray State roster step up was a smart one, with Morant’s teammates producing just 32 total points on 12-of-40 shooting. The Seminoles have been fortress-like on defence, holding seven of their previous nine opponents below 70 points.
Gonzaga Bulldogs
The Bulldogs haven’t seen many single-digit spreads this season, but they’ve done well in those contests, going 4-2 ATS in those contests. And this one carries extra significance given just how poorly Gonzaga played in last year’s Sweet 16 defeat, shooting 33.9 percent from the floor while connecting on just 5-of-20 attempts from 3-point range. The Bulldogs come into the rematch as a strong defensive team as well, ranking sixth in field-goal rate allowed (38.9 percent).
FSU
GONZ