NCAA Basketball: Top 10 “Win Total” bets to avoid for 2021-22 season
By Ian Mumm
4. Florida State Seminoles: Line = 22.5 Wins
The Seminoles have become yearly contenders for the ACC crown under Leonard Hamilton. The continuous cycle of developing and elevating talent, while simultaneously recruiting at a high level has become more of an expectation from the Florida State faithful.
Coach Hamilton has been able to seamlessly incorporate those pieces into his system and push out 20-win seasons. In fact, Hamilton has led the Seminoles to at least that mark in 12 of the last 15 seasons not including 2020-21 due to multiple Covid-19 related pauses.
The extended run of success Hamilton has had, despite significant top-end turnover, highlights his true ability to effectively scheme for the talent he retains and recruits year after year. This offseason hasn’t been any different as Scottie Barnes, Balsa Koprivica, MJ Walker, and Raiquan Gray all making the leap to the NBA in some capacity. However, the additions of Caleb Mills (Houston), Cam’Ron Fletcher (Kentucky), Matthew Cleveland, and Jalen Warley to the program have reloaded the backcourt talent to make up for those losses.
Florida State will again be a tough defensive-oriented team and will lean on that end of the court to engineer extra offensive possessions. Since the defensive rating metric was implemented at the college level in 2009-10, the Seminoles have only been outside of the top-110 three times (2013, 2015, and 2016).
The presence of four 7-footers on this year’s roster continues the Florida State tradition of having strong interior shot-blockers to deter shots and clean the glass. Figuring out which one will emerge isn’t a big issue as the team features length at every position and talent to put teams on the ropes.
A rejuvenated ACC won’t deter this program either, as they’ve finished in the top-2 in three out of the last five seasons. Coach Hamilton’s new group will continue to show up and disrupt the college basketball hierarchy.
Avoid Under 22.5