FSU vs. St. John’s: Notes, odds, how to watch, game thread

Florida State Seminoles basketball, riding a winning streak for the first time this season, will look to keep the winning ways going in a non-conference matchup vs. the St. John’s Red Storm (10-1, 1-0 Big East) as part of this year’s AutoNation Orange Bowl Classic.

It’s the first time the two teams have ever met, with the Seminoles holding a 9-2 record in the Orange Bowl Classic all-time.

FSU (3-9, 1-1 ACC) is coming off an 80-63 win vs. the USC Upstate Spartans, one the Seminoles struggled to put away initially but ended on the right note:

After three straight games of playing noticeably improved basketball, Florida State put forth a sloppier effort against a pesky USC Upstate Spartans squad.

But in a type of game that might have resulted in a demoralizing loss four weeks ago, the Seminoles still found a way to walk away with a double-digit victory. Perhaps that, more than anything, shows the progress that this team is slowly but surely making.

Florida State stood strong and never let the lead get back under single digits. In fact, FSU finished the game with a series of crowd-pleasing dunks, including a thunderous tomahawk slam from Cleveland.

St, John’s enters into the game with its sole loss coming to the previously-ranked Iowa State Cyclones.

From the team’s sports information department:

St. John’s rolls into its final non-conference matchup against Florida State with a 10-1 record, matching the program’s second-best start through 11 games in the last three decades.

Joel Soriano was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after averaging 15.0 points and 14.5 rebounds in wins over BIG EAST foe DePaul and New Hampshire. The Johnnies’ big man leads the nation with nine double-doubles and 8.7 defensive boards per game.

As of Thursday, the Red Storm ranks fourth in Division I averaging 43.2 rebounds, 14th with 17.45 fastbreak points per game and 32nd with 9.4 steals in steals per game.

With a win on Saturday, St. John’s would complete the nonconference portion of its schedule with a 10-1 record. It would mark the program’s best out-of-conference record since going 12-1 (.923) in 2018-19. It would also mark just the sixth time since going 12-0 in 1982-83 that the Johnnies finished nonleague action with only one loss (1984-85, 1986-87, 1990-91, 1994-95, 2018-19).

Saturday’s contest with Florida State begins a two-game stretch away from home for the Red Storm. St. John’s returns to BIG EAST play on Wednesday at Villanova.

According to DraftKings, Florida State is a 6.5-point underdog to the Red Storm with the over/under set at 155.5 points.

FSU vs. St. John’s tips off at 2:30 p.m. from FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, with the game set to be broadcast on Bally Sports.

Fun fact: FSU will be wearing its N7 Nike uniforms, which were designed and created to honor Native Americans and raise awareness for helping provide athletic opportunities for Native American and Aboriginal youth. It’s the 23rd time Florida State has worn the uniforms — the team is 6-1 in the Orange Bowl Classic and 18-4 all-time when rocking them.

Florida State vs. St. John’s how to watch, TV info

Date

Saturday, December 17

Time

2:30 p.m.

TV

Bally Sports

Stream

Bally Sports

Listen

Seminoles Radio Network