Duke vs Florida State Prediction 1/3/2026 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The Duke Blue Devils and the Florida State Seminoles meet Saturday in college basketball action from Donald L Tucker Center in Tallahassee. Here’s a Duke vs Florida State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Duke vs Florida State pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.

Duke Blue Devils Betting Preview

The Blue Devils opened up the year on a great run with 11 straight wins. Those came versus Texas, Western Carolina, Army, Indiana State, Kansas, Niagara, Howard, Arkansas, Florida, Michigan State and Lipscomb in succession. After their first loss versus Texas Tech (by one point), the Blue Devils were sitting at 11-1 overall through their first dozen games of the year.

In the Georgia Tech game on Wednesday the Blue Devils went into the locker room with a 43-39 deficit. Duke came back on a 46-36 run the rest of the way, powering out a comeback victory 85-79 in the end. Cameron Boozer doubled up on 26 points with 12 rebounds and Isaiah Evans had 17 points with five boards in the winning effort for the Blue Devils.

Florida State Seminoles Betting Preview

Over on the Florida State side, they won five of their first six games this year versus Alcorn State, Alabama State, Tennessee-Martin, Georgia Southern and Cal State Bakersfield. It’s been a 2-6 skid from there though, with losses to Texas A&M, Georgia, Houston, UMass, Dayton and North Carolina. That gives the Seminoles a 7-7 record over their first 14 games this season.

Matched up against North Carolina on Tuesday the Seminoles entered the second half with a 40-34 deficit. Florida State didn’t end up getting any closer on a 39-32 run from there and lost the game 79-66 in the end. Tops in scoring was Chauncey Wiggins with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Robert McCray had 11 points with eight assists and six boards while Lajae Jones chipped in 10 points.

Duke Blue Devils @ Florida State Seminoles Betting Trends: January 3, 2026

Why the Florida State Seminoles will win

• Florida State has won eight of its last nine games at Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
• Duke has lost the first half in three of its last four games against the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Why the Duke Blue Devils will win

• Duke has won each of its last 14 day games.
• Florida State has lost each of its last nine games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents.
• Florida State has lost the first half in each of its last four day games against AP-ranked opponents.

Duke vs Florida State Prediction

I’ll stay with Duke. The Blue Devils had a bit of a slow start in their latest win over Georgia Tech but everything worked out well in the end. Duke shot a tepid 40.6 percent from the field though, and had 12 turnovers. The rebounding (a 38-27 advantage with 17-4 offensive) really saved the team. The Devils have 81 or more points in three straight games now, going 2-1 with a one-point loss to a great Texas Tech team as the only blemish.

As for Florida State, they’ve had a rocky season so far but to be fair they’ve played some tough teams already. One of those came versus North Carolina this week, as FSU shot just 34.8 percent from the field and 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) from the line alongside a 45-32 deficit on the boards and a 42-20 disadvantage on points in the paint. The Seminoles have a nice 69 or more points in four of their last five games (a 2-3 run) but I don’t think that’s going to be enough to keep a good pace on the Blue Devils.

Andrew Jett's Pick: Duke Blue Devils -16.5