For the second time in three years, Vermont is back in the NCAA Tournament and the No. 13-seeded Catamounts go up against No. 4 Florida State in the first round of the West Region on Thursday in Hartford, Connecticut. Sportsbooks opened the Seminoles as 10-point favorites with a total of 133.5.
Vermont vs Florida State Game Center
Standout Stats
- The Seminoles are coming off an impressive run in the ACC tournament, where they defeated Virginia in the semifinals before eventually losing to Duke 73-63 in the title game. FSU finished fourth in the ACC and has registered wins over the regular-season champs from the SEC (LSU), Big Ten (Purdue) and ACC (Virginia).
- Vermont is on a six-game winning streak after rolling through the America East Conference tournament, topping Maine (73-57), Birmingham (84-51) and UMBC (66-49). Forward Anthony Lamb notched a game-high 28 points and nine rebounds in the title game over the Retrievers.
- Florida State made it to the Elite Eight in last year’s NCAA Tournament and is looking to go even further in 2019. This is the Seminoles’ seventh tournament berth in 11 seasons. The ’Noles will need to put forth a better shooting performance than they did in the loss to Duke when they finished 8-for-32 over the last 20 minutes of the game.
- Vermont has been on an UNDER tear heading into the Round of 64, as the Catamounts have gone UNDER in five of their past seven games with an average combined score of 124 points. Florida State has gone below the closing total in six of its previous eight contests with an average combined score of 133 points.
- The Seminoles simply haven’t been covering the spread in the Round of 64 over the years. In Florida State’s past four games in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, it’s 1-3 ATS.
My best bet for Florida State-Vermont
UNDER 133.5 points
These teams have been cashing at a rapid pace for UNDER bettors, and I’m not expecting that trend to change in the first round of the tournament. FSU’s shooting woes in the ACC title game were concerning, and while I think the Seminoles will bounce back offensively, I don’t think it’s going to be enough to push this one OVER the total. Take the UNDER.
The total has gone UNDER in five of Vermont’s last seven games (avg. combined score: 124.29).away Vermont is 5-2 ATS in its last seven games after an ATS win.away Florida State is 14-2 SU in its last 16 games.home
