The No.6-seed Florida State Seminoles will start their run at an ACC Tournament title against the No.11 seed Clemson Tigers in the third of four opening round games this Thursday at Greensboro Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. (ET), and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

The Seminoles closed out the regular season with back-to-back victories over Virginia and NC State as underdogs at home. They finished play in the ACC at an even 9-9 straight up and were 17-14 SU overall. A 3-1 record against the spread in their last four games boosted their overall record ATS to 12-16-1.

Clemson brings a six-game losing streak into this matchup that dropped it to 13-17 SU overall and 5-13 in conference play. A costly 1-5 ATS record in its last six games lowered it to 14-12 ATS on the year. The total went “over” in three of its last five games.

Florida State vs. Clemson Betting Storylines

Florida State will rely heavily of the play of Michael Snaer and Okaro White to advance to the quarterfinals against No.3 North Carolina. Snaer has been the team’s leading scorer this season with an average of 14.5 points a game, but he has struggled at times with a 41.8 shooting percentage from the field. White is the second-leading scorer with 12.2 points while leading the team in rebounds with 6.1 a game.

The only injury concern coming into this tournament is Terrance Shannon’s neck. Florida State’s second-best rebounder has already missed his last two starts and remains questionable for Thursday night. Overall, the Seminoles are averaging 67 points a game and shooting 44.2 percent from the floor. Their primary weakness remains a defense that gave up an average of 68 points a game this year.

The Tigers late-season swoon does not paint a pretty picture for their chances in this game. They have only been able to post one SU victory in their last 10 games and ended the regular season ranked 301st in Division I in scoring with an average of just 61.3 points a game. Their only hope against Florida State is to slow this game down to a crawl behind a defense that has been able to hold its opponents to 59.7 points a game.

Clemson has three players scoring in double figures led by Devin Booker’s 13.2 points a game. He also leads the team in rebounds with 7.6 a game and his hitting 54.6 percent of his shots from the floor. After that things thin out pretty quickly on a team that is shooting just 42.5 percent from the field and averaging a total of 33.4 rebounds.

Florida State vs. Clemson Betting Odds and Trends

Florida State has been opened by BetOnline as a two-point favorite with the “over/under” line set at 120.

The Seminoles are 4-11-1 ATS in their last 16 games and 1-6 ATS in their last seven games following a SU win. The total has gone “over” in their last four neutral-site games.

The Tigers are 7-15-1 ATS in their last 23 games played at a neutral site and 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a SU loss. The total has stayed “under” in 13 of their last 19 games against a team with a winning record.

Head-to-head in this matchup, the underdog is 7-3-1 ATS in the last 11 meetings, and the total has gone over in four of the last six games. Florida State won the season series SU but the two games split 1-1 ATS with the road team covering in each. 

Florida State vs. Clemson Picks and Betting Predictions

The loss of Shannon would be a blow to Florida State’s front court, but it still has the overall edge in this contest in talent and especially in current form. Past trends in this series aside, look for the favored Seminoles to maintain a safe lead all game long to claim a SU win that more than covers the two-point spread.

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