Greensboro Coliseum – Greensboro, NC
Atlantic Coast Conference – Second Round
Tip-off: Wednesday, 12:00 p.m. ET
Line: Clemson -2.0

Clemson looks to put an end to its recent struggles with a win over Florida State in the second round of the ACC tournament on Wednesday.

Florida State heads into the ACC tournament after having beaten Pittsburgh 61-52 as a 1-point home underdog. The Seminoles are just 4-4 SU in their past eight games, but they are 7-1 ATS in those contests. Clemson, meanwhile, lost 81-67 as an 11-point underdog at Notre Dame on Mar. 7. The Tigers have lost two straight games both SU and ATS and they are now 1-4 SU and ATS in their past five contests. Their offense has been miserable in those losses, shooting worse than 42% from the field in each of those losses but 51.2% from the field in their lone SU and ATS win (against Georgia Tech). The Tigers and Seminoles last met on Feb. 4, when Clemson won 62-56 as a 2-point underdog at Florida State. The Tigers, however, also lost 59-55 as 4.5-point favorites against the Seminoles on Jan. 19. Clemson has won-and-covered in two of its past three meetings with Florida State, but the Seminoles had won five straight games SU (4-1 ATS) prior to that. Florida State is 8-10 SU against ACC opponents this season, but the team is an impressive 12-6 ATS in those games. The Seminoles are also 10-5 SU and 11-3 ATS when playing on three or more days of rest this season. Clemson, meanwhile, is 8-4 SU and 7-4 ATS when coming off of an ATS loss. Both of these teams enter this game relatively healthy.

Can Florida State upset Clemson Wednesday in the second round of the ACC tournament? For the latest college basketball picks, check out The Platinum Sheet for all the StatFox Experts selections every week throughout the entire 2013-14 season. The experts have been heating up since Feb. 6, combining for a 55% ATS mark (60-49) in college basketball Best Bets. StatFox Zach is on a 62% ATS (29-18) Best Bets run since Jan. 1 and has a 58% ATS mark (49-36) this season. StatFox Brian is a robust 68% ATS (15-7) in Best Bets since Feb. 6 to put him at 57% ATS (48-36-1) this season, while StatFox Gary has been a profitable 55% ATS (30-25) since Dec. 23 to maintain a 57% ATS (48-37) record for the season. StatFox Dave holds a strong 62% ATS (13-8) mark since Feb. 6.

Florida State has not been great on either side of the ball this season, averaging 67.1 PPG (185th in NCAA) on 45.9% shooting (75th in NCAA) and allowing 67.1 PPG (189th in NCAA). G Xavier Rathan-Mayes (14.4 PPG, 4.4 APG, 3.5 RPG, 1.1 SPG) is the most important player for this Florida State team. He is one of the most explosive players in the ACC and is coming off of a big game against Pittsburgh, finishing with 19 points, five assists, four rebounds and a steal in 32 minutes of action. In two games against Clemson this season, Rathan-Mayes is averaging 16.0 PPG and 5.5 APG. He can score in a number of ways, but he also is willing to get his teammates involved. If he gets it going in this game then it’ll be tough for Clemson to find a way to stop him. G Montay Brandon (11.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.1 SPG) is another player in this backcourt that can get it going. Brandon is averaging 11.3 PPG on just 5.7 shots per game over the past three contests. He is capable of scoring without needing the ball in his hands too often and he is also a very solid perimeter defender. G Devon Bookert (10.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.7 APG) will also need to play well for this team. Bookert is an excellent outside shooter (40% 3PT) and he will need to knock down shots for a team that can sometimes really struggle to score. F Phil Cofer (6.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG) will have to do some dirty work inside for this team. The Seminoles do not have many guys with size in their rotation and Cofer will have to attack the boards in this game. If he does not come through and play extremely tough in this one then Florida State will be heading home early.

Clemson has been an excellent team defensively this season, allowing just 61.7 PPG (56th in NCAA) thanks to 4.8 BPG (37th in NCAA). The Tigers are good on the glass (36.5 RPG, 71st in NCAA), but they are horrible on offense. This team is shooting just 40.9% from the field (294th in NCAA) and scoring just 62.4 PPG (294th in NCAA). It will need to find a way to score against a Florida State team that is capable of getting hot. F Jaron Blossomgame (13.1 PPG, 8.2 RPG) is coming off one of his better games this season, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds against Notre Dame. He has now had 9+ rebounds in each of his past three games and could really do damage against a Florida State team that doesn’t rebound the ball well. He’s averaging 12.0 PPG and 7.5 RPG in two games against the team this season and will need to be better on Wednesday. C Landry Nnoko (7.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.0 BPG) is the reason this team protects the rim so well. Nnoko is averaging 3.0 BPG over his past three games and will need to make sure the Seminoles don’t get comfortable when attacking the basket. He had 19 points and nine boards in the loss to Notre Dame and should come into this game feeling very confident. F Donte Grantham (8.9 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.0 BPG) is another guy that is tough defensively for the Tigers. He is a good shot-blocker and will need to help Nnoko around the basket in this one. G Rod Hall (8.6 PPG, 3.4 APG, 2.4 RPG) must play well in this one, as he is the most reliable backcourt player that Clemson has. Hall is going up against a talented group of Florida State guards and he absolutely must hold his own.