Florida State Seminoles vs. Clemson Tigers Pick & Prediction JANUARY 20th 2024

While Florida State’s strong start is reflected in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, Clemson is trying to escape the back of the pack in the league race.

The Seminoles seek their sixth straight win Saturday afternoon when the tumbling Tigers visit Tallahassee, Fla.

Florida State (11-6, 5-1 ACC) was picked 11th in the ACC preseason poll but enters one game behind conference leader North Carolina. The Seminoles began conference play with an eight-point loss to the Tar Heels on Dec. 2 but have won their last five.

The latest occurred Wednesday when Florida State earned an 84-75 win at Miami and led by as many as 16 points, marking the sixth straight ACC game it led by double digits at some point. Reserves Primo Spears and Cam Corhen led the Seminoles with 16 points apiece while leading scorer Jamir Watkins added 15.

Florida State countered a 4-for-17 effort from 3-point range by scoring 52 points in the paint. The Seminoles also survived shooting 60.9 percent (14-of-23) from the line.

“We’ve become more and more of a team,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. “We still have a lot of work to do. … But I think we’re getting closer to developing that unity.”

Clemson (12-5, 2-4) began the season with nine straight wins and reached No. 13 in the Top 25 following its 74-66 neutral site win over TCU on Dec. 9.

Since then, the Tigers are on a 3-5 slide and fell for the fourth time in five games on Tuesday when it lost 93-90 in double overtime against Georgia Tech.

The Tigers blew a nine-point lead by getting outscored 12-3 in the final 1:43, and then missed all seven 3-point tries after regulation. P.J. Hall scored a career-high 31 points but was 1-for-8 in the extra periods.

“I just gotta keep reminding our team that we’re a good team,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “We can put together another win streak, but we do have to fix a few things. We have to get better.”

–Field Level Media