NCAA Tournament 2019 Sweet 16: FSU VS Gonzaga Preview – Time Start, Channel, Stats, Odds

Gonzaga and Florida State have some history. It’s only been started up recently but last year, the Seminoles went on a surprise run to the Elite Eight and shocked Gonzaga in the process. Now, they meet again.

March Madness: No. 1 Gonzaga Vs. No. 4 FSU preview

The No. 4 seed Florida State Seminoles will take on No. 1 seed Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Anaheim, California. The game will start at 7:09 p.m. EST and air on CBS. Gonzaga is coming in on a hot streak, most recently beating Baylor 83-71 with 36 points and eight rebounds from forward Brandon Clarke. And while most teams would treat Florida State as just another one, Gonzaga doesn’t. Coach Mark Few acknowledged the situation.

“They are a really good team. They’re going to demand our best and that’s what we want,” he said. “We wouldn’t want it any other way. It just so happened we got Florida State again in the Sweet 16 and we have a special itch to take care of against them.”

Though the Bulldogs were upset last year, Few felt confident in his team. While FSU has relied on their depth and developing a solid core, Gonzaga thinks that their team will negate that, especially since a significant portion has changed.

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“But look, they returned their entire team from last year, so we will watch the tape from that. We’re a much different team this year,” Few said. “Again, because like during the warm-ups we were notified that Killian [Tillie] wasn’t going to be able to play, so that was kind of a crushing blow to us, emotionally. Florida State was really good that night. I don’t know if we could have beaten them with Killian, but I know he would have really, really helped.”

Previously, the ‘Noles faced No. 13 Vermont and No. 12 Murray State. The No. 1 seed will be their first single-digit seed they’ll face off against. Despite their previous matchups, the Bulldogs will open up as a seven-point favorite over the ‘Noles. If Mfiondu Kabengele and Terrance Mann can produce in the ways they have previously, FSU could very well advance to the Elite Eight for the second year in a row.

Article by Bill Piersa

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