College Basketball Picks: Indiana vs. Florida State Odds, Picks and Predictions

Indiana vs. Florida State Odds, Picks and Predictions

The ACC/Big Ten Challlenge, one of the best things about early-season college basketball, continues tonight as the Indiana Hoosiers travel to Tallahassee to take on the #20 Florida State Seminoles. The Big Ten dominated yesterday’s games, going 6-1 overall, with the conference’s only loss coming from Purdue at the hands of Miami.

Today’s four games close out the 2020 ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and after #4 Michigan State vs. #18 Virginia was cancelled, the Hoosiers vs. Seminoles game is likely the day’s best matchup.

Indiana is 5-0 all-time against FSU, including an 80-64 win over the Seminoles at Assembly Hall. Still, the 20th-ranked Florida State team are three-point favorites on Wednesday night.

Indiana vs. Florida State ATS Pick

The key to Indiana keeping this close will be their frontcourt. Forward Trayce Jackson-Davis is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 21.5 points and 7 rebounds per game. He and Race Thompson are matchup nightmares for most teams, and if point guard Rob Phinisee can find them good looks and hit his own open shots, Indiana could pull off the win.

The issue with IU relying on its frontcourt is the size of Florida State. Center Balsa Koprivica stands at 7-foot-1 and is a beast alongside forward Raiquan Gray. Senior guard M.J. Walker had a team-best 17 points in their season opener.

Usually in close games like this I’ll take the points, but I don’t love this matchup for IU and think FSU can keep Jackson-Davis and Thomspon relatively under wraps, due to their size.

ATS Pick: Florida State -3 @ -108

Indiana vs. Florida State Over/Under Pick

These two teams appear to be extremely evenly matched, and could potentially give us one of the best games of the entire cross-conference challenge. Indiana has two strong wins against Providence and Stanford, but was no match for Texas when they met earlier in the year. Florida State’s record to this point is useless, as they’re 1-0 with a win over North Florida.

The total for this game currently sits at 139.5, and I think I like the under here.

Two teams that can bang down low and don’t necessarily have guards that can score in bunches means a lot of offensive sets that work deep into the shot clock and take time to develop.

In IU’s only game against a ranked opponent this season, they scored 44 points against Texas. I don’t expect them to go that low, but both teams finishing in the 60s seems about right.

O/U Pick: Under 139.5 @ -110

Indiana vs. Florida State Moneyline Pick

I think at this point it’s pretty obvious who I’m going with here. I like IU and what they have in their frontcourt, but this just isn’t a good matchup for the Hoosiers. Not to mention, Indiana will be without senior center Joey Brunk again.

Florida State is just too big for a team like Indiana to push around, and without top-tier guard play they’ll struggle to score consistently. The Seminoles should be able to get their first ever win against Indiana come Wednesday night in Tallahassee.

ML Pick: Florida State @ -157