Wednesday night features an SEC battle as the No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers (18-3, 7-1) take on the Florida Gators (12-9, 5-3). The Gators will host this one at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 pm ET.
Tennessee comes into this one having won four in a row, including a 82-71 win over No. 10 Texas in their last outing. In the victory, Olivier Nkamhoua had a game-high 27 points, while Zakai Zeigler had a double-double with 22 points and 10 assists.
Florida is trying to bounce back from a loss in their last outing as they were taken down 64-50 on the road against No. 7 Kansas State. Colin Castleton led the Gators with 13 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Wildcats.
The Volunteers are the favorites in this one despite playing on the road. They are -260 to win, while the Gators’ moneyline sits at +210. The spread features Florida as 5.5-point underdogs (-106), and the over/under for total points is 130.5 (-110).
Volunteers Look To Keep Pressure On SEC
Despite being the No. 2 ranked team in the nation, Tennessee doesn’t even lead their own conference. That honor goes to No. 4 Alabama, who is undefeated in the Big 12. The Volunteers will look to keep pressure on Alabama and the rest of the SEC with a road win Wednesday night.
Offensively, Tennessee ranks 83rd in the nation in scoring, averaging 74.4 points per game (69.5 on the road). They are led by senior guard Santiago Vescovi, who is averaging 12.2 points on 40.2% shooting. He is also putting up 4,3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.2 steals per game.
Aside from Vescovi, the Volunteers have three others averaging double digits in Zakai Zeigler (11.2 points, 3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 2.3 steals), Olivier Nkamhoua (11 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists) and Josiah-Jordan James (10.1 points, 4.5 rebounds).
On defense, Tennessee has been the best team in the nation. They rank atop the scoring defense ranks, allowing opponents a measly 54.5 points per game (58.3 on the road).
Gators Looking For Signature Win
At 5-3, the Florida Gators currently rank sixth in the SEC. Between their conference record and 12-9 overall record, they have certainly not solidified their resume for a tournament bid. With March Madness rapidly approaching, the Gators would love to get a signature win over the No. 2 Volunteers.
While it might not be elite like Tennessee, the Gators’ defense has been solid this season. They rank 48th in scoring defense, allowing just 65 points per game.
On the offensive side, they rank 143rd in the nation in scoring, averaging 71.7 points per game (78.7 at home). Senior forward Colin Castleton leads the way for the Gators as he is averaging 14.9 points on 49.8% shooting. He is also pulling down 7.6 rebounds per night and dishing out 2.6 assists.
The only other double-digit scorer for the Gators is sophomore guard Will Richard, who is averaging 10.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and a steal per game.
Take Tennessee To Win And Cover
Looking at the trends, Tennessee is 9-1 in their last 10 games overall and 4-1 against the spread in their last five. In their last eight games against the Gators, they are 7-1 straight up and 6-2 against the spread.
As for Florida, they are 5-2 in their last seven games and 5-1 against the spread in their last six. In their last five games against SEC opponents, they are 5-0 against the spread.
While Florida can play teams tough, this Tennessee team is legitimately loaded. Hoping to get a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Volunteers are looking to finish strong down the stretch.
For that reason, take Tennessee and their lockdown defense to both win and cover the 5.5-point spread (-110) Wednesday night against the Gators.
