The Florida State Seminoles (1-1) look to bounce back from a rivalry-game loss as they host the Tulane Green Wave (1-1) on Tuesday night. Tulane is also coming off a loss, dropping a close game to Southern on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. ET at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, and the game will be televised by the ACC Network.
These teams have just two meetings in recent memory, with FSU winning both. They knocked off the Green Wave in New Orleans 80-69 in November 2018 and won the matchup on a neutral floor the year before by 19. Overall, FSU leads the series 25-12, and the teams haven’t met in Tallahassee since December 1994.
Tulane Looking To Improve on Defense
Tulane started the season with a three-point win over Southeastern Louisiana before falling to Southern. They couldn’t get on track against Southern, trailing by double digits in the first half, and their comeback fell short, 73-70.
Senior Jalen Cook has made 6-of-12 from deep on the season, and he had 28 points in the opener. He went for 19 points in the loss to Southern as Kevin Cross led the Green Wave with 20 points. Jaylen Forbes is also in double digits on the season at 11.5 points per game.
On the season, the Green Wave have scored 70 points per game and are shooting just 45 percent from the field, 34 percent from deep. They average 34 rebounds per game and 13.5 turnovers. The Green Wave don’t have much height as Cross is the only regular over 6-foot-6.
Tulane is 1-7 in their last eight games against the spread, 0-2 this season. The Green Wave were dominated on the boards by Southern 35-27, and their defense was non-existent as they gave up 24 assists on 30 made baskets as the Jaguars shot 51 percent from the field.
Noles Need Bounce Back Win
Florida State started the season ranked No. 20, and they beat Penn by 35 before falling at Florida by 16. They led the Gators by two at the half but couldn’t survive 17 turnovers and 38 percent shooting from the floor. The Noles have dominated the offensive glass in their first two games lead the ACC in offensive rebounding at 16.5 per game.
Florida State’s senior trio of Malik Osborne, Anthony Polite, and RayQuan Evans have combined to score nearly half of the teams’ points in the first two games of the season. Osborne leads the team in scoring at 18 points per game and has also grabbed a team-leading 9.5 rebounds per game. Evans leads the Noles with 4.0 assists per game while scoring ten ppg and Polite has 9.5 ppg to go with 7.0 RPG.
Going back to last season, Florida State has had trouble with the number, going just 2-5-1 against the spread in their last eight. They have bounced back well from losses, though, going 3-1-1 in their last five after a straight-up loss.
Betting Analysis
Tulane Green Wave +18.5 (-120)
Florida State Seminoles -18.5 (+100)
Total Points: 139.5 Over -120. Under +100
Florida State has a big size advantage in this one, plus the better athletes. The number is a large one, and Tulane will have to do better on the glass and defensively than in their first two games to keep it close. Florida State needs to send a message to get back into the rankings and set themselves up for ACC play.
Betting Pick: FSU -18.5 (+100)
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