Gonzaga vs Florida State 2.0 Should Be Spectacular

To be clear, when the Bulldogs and Seminoles met in last season's Sweet Sixteen, the game was not spectacular.

Florida State's endless supply of quality athletes stopped the Zags in their tracks, to the tune of a decisive 75-60 beatdown.

With three ACC teams earning top seeds in this year's Big Dance, the 'Noles will now have the distinction of facing all four of its No 1's. Coming into this one, they're 1-4 straight up.

 

Bovada has set the line at Gonzaga -7, the total at 148, and the moneyline at Florida State +285 and Gonzaga -370.

The computer and its virtually endless series of game simulations speculates that the tables have turned this time around:

Why bet on Florida State ...

Maybe the Seminoles had to travel coast-to-coast for this rematch, but when coach Leonard Hamilton can go an incredible 11-deep in his rotation, this shouldn't be an issue.

Tragically, Phil Cofer won't be available, as he's home with his family mourning the death of his father. All season, though, someone's stepped up for the team. Dudes have had nine leading scorers this season, including Terrence Mann, who was on fire -- 18 points -- against Gonzaga last year.

Florida State made short work of Vermont and Murray State to get this far. Some may call those two light opposition, but as the Zags will confirm, what matters is succeeding with the schedule you're given. The 'Noles have done that.

 

Why bet on Gonzaga ...

The Zags have surely had this pairing in the back of their minds from the moment they saw the bracket draw.

They've got an arsenal of their own this season, including the dynamic additions of Killian Tillie -- dude sat out with a hip injury in this matchup last year -- and San José State transfer Brandon Clarke, who's clearly the most impactful junior of 2018-2019.

Toss in one of the nation's best PG's in Josh Perkins and lottery pick Rui Hachimura, and Mark Few is clearly in possession of the best team he's ever had.

 

Instant analysis ...

If Florida State's gonna repeat last year's feat against Gonzaga, it'll have to be on the defensive end, and the computer simulations appear to reflect that by predicting the under. That means 7-4 man-mountain Christ Koumadje and 6-10 Mfiondu Kabengele are likely gonna need all ten fouls they have to give and then some.

 

The 'Noles are athletic enough to hang with the Zags, but Gonzaga’s offense came to life last weekend versus Baylor, one of the better defensive teams in the nation. They won't be lulled into a track meet with Florida State like Murray State was, but even then, they've got more firepower. Dudes have proven that all season with the nation's top-scoring offense.

Ironically, this may come down to defense if the pace is throttled back, and the pressure's on Florida State to do it. They're a tall team, but that's a tall order.

ATS pick ... Gonzaga -7
Total pick ... under 149

Result: Gonzaga 72 Florida State 58 ... Bulldogs cover; under covers

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