posted March 17, 2008 at 21:41 EST in NCAA B Free Picks

BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds: Florida State -8

The Akron Zips (23-10 SU, 16-13 ATS) will fly south to compete in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) as they play the Florida State Seminoles (19-14 SU, 12-17-1 ATS) in a first-round game that gets underway at 9 PM ET on Tuesday night at the Tucker Center in Tallahassee, FL.

In the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds, Florida State is listed as an eight-point favorite.

Here are some of the NCAA college basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* AKR has covered four of its last six games

* AKR has won 17 of its last 25 games SU

* AKR has played four of its last five games OVER the total

* AKR has won and covered five of its last six road games

* AKR has played eight of its last 11 road games OVER the total

* FSU is 4-0-1 ATS in its last five games

* FSU has covered seven of its last 22 games

* FSU has won five of its last seven games SU

* FSU has covered one of its last ten home games

* FSU has won 16 of its last 20 home games SU

The Mid-American Conference garnered only one NCAA bid, which left Akron out in the cold. But the Zips, who were blown away by Kent State in the conference title game, get this bid to the NIT. Akron doesn't appear to be all that intimidated by going out on the road, winning five of its last six. And this team actually has wins over a couple of NCAA tournament teams - Temple and Austin Peay.

There is no denying Florida State's momentum is it came into the ACC tournament. The Seminoles scored a pair of wins over tournament-bound Miami and also beat Clemson as they tried to bolster their at-large credentials. In the last month, they've lost only to #1 North Carolina.

FSU boasts four starters averaging in double figures and a coach in Leonard Hamilton who knows how to motivate his troops. They can match up well with Akron's three-guard offense, as Toney Douglas (15.6 ppg) and Jason Rich (14.7 ppg) share the shooting duties. Ralph Mims, who did a great job defending Miami's Jack McClinton last time out, joins Douglas, the ACC leader in steals, as two of the defensive stalwarts on Hamilton's system.

We like the enthusiasm FSU found at the tail end of the season, and expect that they will extend it a little further. So we'll lay the chalk with Florida State, the eight-point favorite in the BetUS March Madness betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: FLORIDA STATE

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(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com gives it the old college try as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)