Georgia Tech vs Florida State Odds, Lines, and Spread

• Scottie Barnes and the No. 15 Florida State Seminoles (3-0) host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2-2) in the ACC opener for both teams Tuesday, Dec. 15 in Tallahassee
• The Seminoles are coming off an 83-71 victory over in-state rival Florida Saturday, while the Yellow Jackets beat Nebraska 75-64 last Wednesday
• Read below for odds, analysis, and our best bet for this matchup

A highly anticipated ACC campaign for Florida State tips off Tuesday night in Tallahassee as the No. 15 Seminoles host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at 8:30 p.m. ET.

FSU has owned GT recently, winning 14 of the last 16 games between the two programs. The Seminoles are coming off an emotional 12-point win against the Gators that saw preseason SEC Player of the Year Keyontae Johnson collapse in the first half. Florida chose to play on without its best player and Florida State won.

Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets have had a Jekyll and Hyde season. Tech opened with inscrutable losses to Georgia State and Mercer, but then beat perennial power Kentucky and Nebraska.

However, the Seminoles are unsurprisingly near-double digit favorites in this one.

Georgia Tech vs Florida State Odds

Odds taken Dec. 14 at FanDuel

Size Matters

A big reason why Florida State is 8.5-point favorites is just that: they’re big. Featuring eight players who are at least 6-foot-8, the ‘Noles are the fourth-tallest team – on average – in the country. That height gives Hamilton’s club a decided advantage on the boards.

One of those long players is the highly-touted freshman Barnes. The 6-foot-9 guard had a breakout game against the Gators Saturday, going 7-of-10 from the field for 17 points. That performance earned Barnes ACC Rookie of the Week honors Monday. The freshman will likely be a focal point of the team with high expectations this season. If Georgia Tech has any shot at the upset, it will have to find a way to slow him down.

Ramble On

If you look solely at KenPom ratings, this one is a mismatch. Florida State is No. 13 overall, while Georgia Tech is No. 71. But any team that can knock off Kentucky and a Big Ten team (albeit lowly Nebraska) in the span of four days needs to be taken seriously. That victory over UK followed strange losses to in-state schools Georgia State and Mercer.

Moses Wright led the way for the Jackets with 21 points against the Wildcats, but Pastner’s team pulled off the comfortable 79-62 victory with defense. Georgia Tech had 15 steals leading to an overwhelming 33-4 advantage in points off turnovers. If that kind of defensive effort happens Tuesday, Florida State could be the next upset victim.

As long as the 6-foot-9 Wright is on the floor, he will continue to be the Jackets’ key player. The senior will need to follow up the type of effort he brought against Kentucky if the Yellow Jackets are to pick off another marquee team. You certainly have to appreciate Pastner’s creativity in motivating his team.

Josh Pastner may mess around and win Football guy of the week with this move https://t.co/cilg8BoiFR

— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) December 10, 2020

Georgia Tech reeled off four consecutive ACC wins to end the 2019-20 campaign, the longest streak for the program since late in 2015-16. The Yellow Jackets have not won five straight ACC games since closing out the 2001-02 regular season with five straight. Coronavirus pinata balls aside, I think that streak ends Tuesday. I love the ‘Noles in this spot.

The pick: Florida State -8.5 (-106)