The No. 24 Florida State Seminoles (8-1) take on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (7-4) at Donald L. Tucker Center. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 21, 2017.
The Over/Under (O/U) for the game has been set at 139 points with Florida State opening as a 22-point favorite.
Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. Florida State Seminoles Free Prediction
In the Golden Eagles’ last game, they topped the William Carey Crusaders, 75-58. The Golden Eagles had a much better turnover percentage (8.7 vs. 22.4) and had a better effective field goal percentage (0.469 vs. 0.418). Southern Miss rallied around Cortez Edwards, who was the top scorer from either team with 28 points on 9-for-15 shooting.
The Seminoles defeated the Charleston Southern Buccaneers in their last game, 69-58. The Seminoles forced 20 turnovers, while the Buccaneers had a free throw rate of 0.138 (below their season average of 0.218). With 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds, Florida State’s Terance Mann played well.
Florida State could dominate on defense as they clash against one of the nation’s worst offenses. Since the 2016-17 season, the Seminoles rank 19th in effective field goal percentage allowed (0.470), while Southern Miss is 296th in effective field goal percentage (0.476). Furthermore, the Golden Eagles, who rank 273rd in free throw attempt (FTA) rate (0.210), will go head-to-head against the Seminoles, who rank 35th in opponents’ FTA rate (0.247).
Southern Miss comes into the game with records of 7-4 straight up (SU) and 3-3 against the spread (ATS). It’s tough to find a trend for Golden Eagles games in regards to the total, as there has been an even split between games finishing over and under.
Meanwhile, Florida State is 8-1 SU and 6-2-1 ATS. Games featuring the Seminoles have typically finished under the projected point total (55.6 percent).
Edwards has averaged 19.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals over the last five games for Southern Miss.
The Seminoles won the sole contest against the Golden Eagles last season, 98-49. The Seminoles had a much better effective field goal percentage (0.717 vs. 0.341) and had a much better free throw rate (0.200 vs. 0.095).
Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. Florida State Seminoles Betting Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Florida State, ATS Winner – Southern Miss, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes (2016-Present):
Florida State ranks seventh in blocks per game (5.4) while Southern Miss ranks 188th (2.0).
The Seminoles rank 39th in rebounds per game (38.3) while the Golden Eagles rank 202nd (33.9).
Florida State ranks 27th in steals per game (7.6) while Southern Miss ranks 166th (5.4).
The Seminoles rank 28th in assists allowed per game (11.8) while the Golden Eagles rank 157th (14.2).
Florida State averages 19.9 three pointers per game, which ranks 133rd in the NCAA. Southern Miss ranks 219th in three pointers allowed per game (24.9).
