Florida Gators at Tennessee Volunteers Betting Preview
The SEC will be on full display Wednesday night as the Florida Gators (12-7, 3-4 in SEC) take on the No. 18 Tennessee Volunteers (13-5, 4-3 in SEC). The Vols will host this one at Thompson-Boling Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 6:00 pm ET.
The Gators had their three-game win streak come to an end Monday as they dropped a road game to Ole Miss, 70-54.
In the loss, Jason Jitoboh (12), Anthony Duruji (11), and Tyree Appleby (11) all had double digits, but the Gators just couldn’t contain Ole Miss in the second half. After entering halftime tied, the Gators were outscored 48-32 in the second.
Despite being blown out by No. 12 Kentucky 107-79, the Volunteers have won three of their last four. In their last matchup, they took down No. 19 LSU 64-50 at home.
Santiago Vescovi led the Volunteers with 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Uros Plavsic was the only other player to score in double digits with 12 points and six boards.
The Volunteers are overwhelming favorites in this one. They are -550 to win while the Gators’ moneyline sits at +400. The spread features Florida +10 (-110), and the over/under for total points is 133.
More Odds
At +5500, the Tennessee Volunteers have the better odds of winning the National Championship. The Gators are +12000 to win it all.
By The Numbers
Tennessee has had the better offense to date. They rank 77th in scoring, averaging 74.4 points per game 79.5 at home. The Gators rank 147th averaging 71.3 points (68.8 on the road).
Defensively, it is again Tennessee with the advantage. They rank 26th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents an average of just 62.6 points per game (55.4 at home). Florida ranks 33rd, allowing 63.1 points per game (68.1 on the road).
Florida Looks For Signature Conference Win
At 3-4 in the SEC, Florida would love nothing more than to get back to .500 Wednesday night while also picking up a signature win over the No. 18 Volunteers.
To do so, they will have to do it without their leading scorer, senior forward Colin Castleton. Averaging 15.4 points and 9.1 rebounds, Castleton is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury.
That leaves just one other player for the Gators averaging double digits in senior guard Phlanrous Fleming Jr. In 19 games, he is averaging 10.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.
Other contributors include Tyree Appleby (9.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists), Anthony Duruji (9.5 points, 4.4 rebounds), and Myreon Jones (8.4 points, 3.2 rebounds).
Tennessee Looks To Stay Perfect At Home
The Tennessee Volunteers have had an overall solid start to the season at 13-5, but they have been outright unbeatable at home. To date, they are 10-0 when playing at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Volunteers are led by guards Santiago Vescovi and Kennedy Chandler. Vescovi is averaging 14.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.9 steals per game.
Not to be outdone, Chandler is averaging 13.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 2.3 steals per game.
Olivier Nkamhoua (8.4 points, 5.6 rebounds), John Fulkerson (7.9 points, 5.3 rebounds), Zakai Zeigler (6.8 points, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals), and Josiah-Jordan James (6.7 points, 5.5 rebounds) have also had nice seasons thus far.
Take Tennessee To Win And Cover At Home
If this game were on the road, there would be a lot of value with Florida +10. However, the Volunteers have just been a different beast when playing at home.
Their home play has even been so stellar that they took down No. 3 Arizona at home back at the end of December.
It also doesn’t hurt the Volunteers’ chances that the Gators’ leading scorer is still out, making Tennessee’s defense a tough matchup for a shorthanded Florida team.
On Wednesday, take Tennessee to both win and cover at home.
