The 11-7 Irish head into Tallahassee for a date with the Seminoles, and this should be a tough spot for them. Florida State is one of the most athletic groups in America, and Notre Dame has struggled with that sort of matchup in the past.
For Florida State, they have had little trouble in disposing of anyone not named Virginia in the last month and a half. They feature a mammoth interior front and are one of the better offensive rebounding groups nationally.
The Seminoles have also proven to be an excellent defensive team, ranking 58 against the three and number two in two point field goal percentage. No ACC opponents to date have figured them out, but Notre Dame features a much more efficient offensive attack than what they are used to.
The Irish can really shoot it and they rarely turn it over. They are comfortable playing in a variety of tempos and also have quality interior options in Zach Auguste and Garrick Sherman. Both have quality mid-range games and that will help immensely here given the size they go up against.
This spread opened with the ‘Noles as 10 point favorites and now sits at 8.5. Since beating Duke (and subsequently learning about the Jerian Grant suspension), the Irish have looked more than mediocre in going 1-3 during that time. They have fallen to questionable conference foes before picking up a much needed win over Virginia Tech on Sunday.
For Notre Dame, getting a win here would be enormous. It could really help them down the stretch in building their resume heading toward the postseason. It would also dispel the thought that they cannot beat athletic ball clubs such as the one they are up against.
FSU plays at Duke on Saturday, and so this is a game that could be tricky for them in that regard. They are not nearly as efficient on the offensive end as their counterpart here, but they do have a roster makeup that could cause fits for N.D.
The spread seems about right, and while Notre Dame could hold some value given their ability to play well as a dog at times this season and their offensive firepower in comparison to FSU, this is a tough match-up for them. I’m interested to see how they respond once again in the face of adversity, but this game has limited betting value in my mind.
