Florida State vs UNLV Odds
| Florida State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3 -110 | 150 -110o / -110u | -170 |
| UNLV Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3 -110 | 150 -110o / -110u | +140 |
It’s the Sunshine Slam in Florida between the home state contender — Florida State Seminoles — and the UNLV Rebels from the Mountain West.
Both teams posted double-digit losses at one point this season, so it's an opportunity for both to prove how good they actually are. Here's college basketball odds and a pick for Florida State vs. UNLV on Monday, Nov. 20.
Florida State Seminoles
Florida State missed the NCAA tournament each of the past two seasons, which was mostly a result of unfortunate injury luck.
So far, this season is off to a rough start.
The Seminoles took an absolute shellacking from their Sunshine State rivals — Florida — last week. The Noles lost 89-68, displaying an inability to slow down Walter Clayton Jr. Plus, FSU couldn't even score itself.
That’ll have to change for Florida State to beat UNLV on Monday.
Leonard Hamilton wants his ideal rotation to feature 10 or 11 players, but this team has nine, at most.
Plus, the Noles haven’t found an established go-to scoring option yet. Four players — Darin Green Jr., Cam Corhen, Jamir Watkins and Cam'Ron Fletcher — all average double figures, but who are the Noles relying on when the game is in question?
It's likely Green because of his perimeter shooting, but he’s not a self-creator.
The team's two best players may wind up being sophomore Baba Miller and junior Jalen Warley. Miller, a former top-15 recruit, still looks more like an upside professional piece than a reliable college player, and Warley’s scoring isn’t up to par yet.
I feel like this matchup is the perfect chance for Miller to show off some his five-star potential. Look, everyone thought the skilled 6-foot-10 forward would be the clear go-to guy for Florida State, but that hasn't happened. So, what can Miller realistically develop into? This game will begin to help us form an answer to that question.
On the plus side, the Noles boast plenty of size and athleticism, which fits Coach Hamilton's ideology perfectly. Some of the better teams in Hamilton's era had plenty of length and athleticism (think 2018-19 Noles).
UNLV Runnin' Rebels
For the Rebs, they opened the season with a loss to Southern as a 16.5-point favorite before winning the last two contests.
Dating back to the offseason, UNLV’s roster hasn’t made a ton of sense. Four of the top-five scorers on Kevin Kruger’s team play very similar styles, and their strengths don't consist of perimeter shooting.
High-major transfers Kalib Boone, Jalen Hill, Luis Rodriguez and Isaiah Cottrell are some variation of athletic forwards who can defend and score inside. But that’s about it.
That's not good for floor spacing and forces UNLV to win on defense. It’s too one-dimensional when its size can’t completely overwhelm teams — like it won’t against the lengthy Noles.
The only reliable guard on UNLV’s roster is freshman Dedan Thomas Jr. Through three games, Thomas is averaging 11.3 points, 4.3 points and 6.3 assists per contest, and he'll need to play a significant role for the Rebs.
Florida State vs. UNLV
Betting Pick & Prediction
For the record, I don’t trust either team long term. For this game, though, I think Florida State’s ability to match UNLV’s size and shoot the ball better weighs in its favor.
Florida State has one advantage against UNLV, and that's Green, the Noles' current leading scorer. He's the one guy you can set a screen for and expect him to drill a triple.
UNLV lacks an option for Coach Kruger to run plays to hit jumpers.
Pick: Florida State -3 (Play to -3.5)
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