
Florida State vs Pittsburgh Prediction 1/15/25 College Basketball Picks Today
Pittsburgh (12-4) vs. Florida State (11-5)
January 15, 2025 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Florida State +2.5; Over/Under: 150.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Pittsburgh Panthers and the Florida State Seminoles meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Donald L Tucker Center. Here’s a Florida State vs Pittsburgh prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Florida State vs Pittsburgh pick.
Pittsburgh Panthers Betting Preview
The Panthers have been a pretty consistent team overall this year, but they’ve got a couple of spotty stretches in the books. Pittsburgh opened the season on a 6-0 run, taking out Radford, Murray State, Gardner-Webb, West Virginia, VMI, and LSU in that time. Following a 1-2 stretch that featured a win over Ohio State in between losses to Wisconsin and Mississippi State, the Panthers got back to winning. Pitt would take out Virginia Tech, Eastern Kentucky, Sam Houston, California, and Stanford in the next five games before consecutive losses versus Duke and Louisville in the next two games for a 12-4 overall record in their first 16 outings this year.
In the Louisville matchup back on Saturday, the Panthers entered the second half sporting a 35-34 deficit. Pitt didn’t end up getting any closer than that on a 47-44 run and eventually lost 82-78. Leading the team in the defeat was Jaland Lowe with 24 points, six assists, and two rebounds with one steal. Ishmael Leggett added 16 points with three rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while Damian Dunn came off the bench to contribute 15 points with eight boards in 30 minutes of action. Cameron Corden chipped 11 points and five rebounds.
Florida State Seminoles Betting Preview
Over on the Florida State side, they’ve been a pretty darn consistent team themselves this year—outside of one spotty run in December, that is. The Seminoles kicked off the season on a 7-1 stretch with a lone loss to Florida mixed with wins over Northern Kentucky, Rice, Tarleton State, Hofstra, Temple, UMass, and Western Carolina. A 2-3 run came next with a pair of wins over Tulane and Winthrop among losses to LSU, NC State, and Louisville. Since then in the last three games, Florida State has taken out Syracuse and Miami ahead of a loss to Clemson, giving the Seminoles an 11-5 overall record through 16 games so far this season.
In the Clemson matchup on Saturday, the Seminoles held a 36-29 disadvantage in the locker room. Florida State was drilled in the second half 41-28, falling even further behind in an eventual blowout loss 77-57. Malique Ewin was the top team scorer in the losing effort, notching 15 points with nine boards and a block. Jamir Watkins added 11 points with three rebounds and two steals as well. The only other Florida State player in double-figures was Jerry Deng, who came off the bench to provide 11 points with one rebound in 17 minutes.
Why the Florida State Seminoles will win
- Florida State has won each of its last eight night games at Donald L. Tucker Civic Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Florida State has won the first half in each of its last nine night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Why the Pittsburgh Panthers will win
- Pittsburgh has won 10 of its last 11 night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Pittsburgh has won the first half in 11 of its last 12 night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Florida State vs Pittsburgh Prediction
I’ll lean toward Florida State here. The Seminoles really need a good bounce-back effort following their loss to Clemson, though. Perhaps getting back on the home court will help. In any case, FSU looked pretty listless in that loss to the Tigers, especially in the second half. The Seminoles were outmuscled on the boards 31-28 and had 12 turnovers while giving up 48.3 percent shooting on the other side. The 57 points were pretty uncharacteristic of Florida State, for what it’s worth. It was their lowest points total of the season so far.
As for Pitt, they didn’t play terribly in their latest loss to Louisville—outside of getting blitzed 44-31 (17-5 offensive) on the boards, that is. The Panthers kept the turnovers to a minimum (nine) and shot a nice 20-of-22 from the line (90.9 percent). That makes 78 or more points in five of the last six games (a 4-2 run) for the Panthers. I like this one to finish as a pretty high points total as well, with Florida State eking it out in the end. Should be a fun one to watch.