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Colorado Buffaloes vs Florida State Seminoles: East Region Battle For Sweet 16 Spot

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One of the few second-round games that matches up to its seeds sees the fifth-seeded Colorado Buffaloes taking on the fourth-seeded Florida State Seminoles on Monday at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis. The Buffaloes routed Georgetown in their first-round contest, while the Seminoles got past UNC Greensboro to advance to this game.

The Buffaloes (23-8) have won seven of their last eight, with the only setback coming in the Pac-12 tournament championship game to Oregon State, which has already advanced to the Sweet 16. Colorado finished 14-6 in the conference in the regular season, putting it in third place in the standings.

RaiQuan Gray of the Florida State Seminoles drives to the basket against Hayden Koval of the UNC-Greensboro Spartans
Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFP

The first-round win over Georgetown was the first time in its last four NCAA Tournament appearances that Colorado has advanced. The last time the Buffaloes recorded more than one victory in an NCAA Tournament was in 1955 when they reached the Final Four and finished in third place.

The Seminoles (17-6) have won at least two games in their last two NCAA Tournament appearances, advancing to the Elite Eight in 2018 and the Sweet 16 in 2019. Florida State has alternated wins and losses over its last seven games, a trend they hope ends in this contest.

Coach Leonard Hamilton’s squad finished second in the regular-season ACC standings with an 11-4 mark. The Seminoles fell to Georgia Tech in the championship game of the ACC tournament.

The winner of this contest will take on the winner of the second-round matchup between Michigan and LSU in next weekend’s Sweet 16. Additionally, to check out more specific information about the NCAAB futures available for the NCAAM Elite Eight matchup.

Florida State is a 1½-point favorite, according to the college basketball odds, with the over/under set at 140½.

Dominant Performance

Many felt Georgetown was the hot underdog heading into the first round of the NCAA Tournament and could upset the Buffaloes. Those people were proven wrong quickly, as Colorado dominated from start to finish, leading the Hoyas by 24 at halftime on their way to a 23-point rout.

Freshman forward Jabari Walker went 5-for-5 from beyond the arc on his way to a career-high 24 points, while McKinley Wright IV had a double-double with 12 points and 13 assists in the game. Walker has yet to start a game this season and is averaging 7.9 points per game, but he was the star in the victory.

Wright usually paces the Buffaloes, averaging 15.4 points and 5.8 assists per game. The senior guard is also recording a little over a steal per game.

Senior forward Jeriah Horne has hit a team-high 51 3-pointers and averages 11.1 points and a team-best 5.8 rebounds per game. Horne had just two points and went 0-for-4 from 3-point range against Georgetown, so he’ll be looking for a bounceback performance in this one.

Junior forward Evan Battey is contributing 10.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 49.3% from the field. The Buffaloes are deep, with nine players averaging at least 11 minutes per game.

Turning Up The D

Florida State tied its NCAA Tournament defensive scoring record in the first round against UNC Greensboro, holding the Spartans to just 54 points. It was the third time the Seminoles have done that in an NCAA Tournament game and likely the way they need to play to continue to advance.

Offensively, RaiQuan Gray led the way with 17 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists. The junior forward is the Seminoles’ second-leading scorer on the season with 12.2 points per game as well as the team’s top rebounder, averaging 6.6 per contest.

Senior guard M.J. Walker is the team’s leading scorer at 12.5 points per game, but he had just four points in the first-round win. He did contribute six assists and two steals, but he finished 2-of-6 from the floor, including 0-of-2 from 3-point range.

He wasn’t the only Seminoles player with trouble from long range, as Florida State failed to hit a 3-pointer in the win, going 0-of-9 as a team. The Seminoles shoot 38.3% from beyond the arc as a team, though Walker is the team leader with 44 made 3-pointers this season.

Freshman guard Scottie Barnes runs the show for Hamilton, averaging 10.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and a team-high 4.1 assists per game. At 6-9, he has size to see over most defenders, though he’s also susceptible to some pressure from smaller guards as well.

Battle To The End

Both of these teams have some confidence heading into this contest, and both have plenty of depth. This game should be an up-and-down affair, as both teams like to push the tempo to get easy buckets.

The Seminoles will be better from 3-point range in this one, while the Buffaloes will likely cool off a bit from their 64% accuracy from beyond the arc against Georgetown. It will all come together for one of the more entertaining second-round contests we’ll see.

Who wins? We’re going to go with the Seminoles, who have more postseason experience to rely on. When making your college basketball picks, go with Florida State to survive and advance.

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