Florida vs Tennessee NCAA Basketball Odds, Preview & Pick.

Florida vs Tennessee NCAA Basketball Odds, Preview & Pick

Written by on February 8, 2019

Top-ranked Tennessee has lost just one game this season and not since Thanksgiving weekend. The Vols bring a school-record winning streak into Saturday’s home game against hated Florida, and UT will be solidly favored in the college basketball odds to keep that streak going.

How to Bet Florida vs Tennessee NCAA Basketball Odds & Game Info

  • When: Saturday, 4 PM ET
  • Where: Thompson-Boling Arena
  • TV: ESPN
  • Live Stream: WatchESPN
  • NCAA Basketball Odds: TBA

Season Series

Vols go for season sweep as they won at Florida on Jan. 12, 78-67 when they were ranked No. 3. UT star Grant Williams scored 20 points and found Admiral Schofield for a clinching 3-pointer in the corner with 41.3 seconds remaining. Jalen Hudson misfired on the other end, and the Gators committed two turnovers in the waning seconds to turn a one-possession game into a lopsided final score.

Jordan Bowden added 17 off the bench for Tennessee; Bowden accounted for 14 consecutive points late in the second half with Schofield on the bench with four fouls. KeVaughn Allen had 18 points for the Gators, and Noah Locke added 16 points. UF was up 3 at the half.

Why Bet on Florida?

The Gators are having a down season at 12-10 overall and 4-5 in the SEC. They come off a 76-62 loss at Auburn on Tuesday. Bryce Brown scored 14 points and Auburn beat Florida at home in the series since 1999, snapping an 11-game overall losing streak against the Gators. Florida had won 21 of the last 22 matchups in the series.

Auburn began the second half on a 13-4 run and continued to pull away, building an 18-point lead with 8:28 to play. The Tigers led by double digits for the final 11:29 of the game. Florida was within 68-56 with 5:26 to go but didn’t make another field goal until the 20-second mark. UF senior guard and leading scorer KeVaughn Allen had 10 points, but six turnovers. Freshman forward Keyontae Johnson had seven points, 10 rebounds, and 5 turnovers.

Allen has scored in double figures in 15 of the last 16 games, including a career-best 11 games in a row. UF leads the SEC in scoring defense (63.4; 19th nationally) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.318), and the Gators rank 2nd in turnover margin (+4.0) and 3-pointers made (9.0). Florida has held 3 opponents — West Virginia, Butler, and Arkansas — more than 30 points below their season scoring average entering the meeting. The Gators have held 9 major conference opponents at least 19 points under the team’s scoring average entering the contest.

Florida plays the top-ranked team for the 18th time in team history. The Gators own 2 wins vs. a #1 team, defeating Duke in the 2000 NCAA Tournament and topping Ohio State in the 2007 national championship game. This marks the first time the Gators face a #1-ranked Tennessee team. The teams have met twice when Florida was ranked #1, with the Gators taking both those meetings (2/3/07; 3/15/14, SEC Tournament).

Team Stats

Offense
  • Total Score: 68.73
  • Field Goal Percentage: 42.15
  • Three-Point Percentage: 34.68
  • Free Throw Percentage: 69.25
  • Total Rebounds: 34.00

Defense

  • Total Score: 63.41
  • Field Goal Percentage: 41.41
  • Three-Point Percentage: 31.77
  • Free Throw Percentage: 70.15
  • Total Rebounds: 35.50

Why Bet on Tennessee?

The Vols are on a school-record 17-game winning streak following Tuesday’s 72-60 win over Missouri. After trailing by as many as 12 in the first half, Missouri chipped away and got Tennessee’s lead down to 39-35 after Jeremiah Tilmon’s tip-in with 18:29 left. Tennessee responded by scoring 11 straight points and stayed in front by at least eight points the rest of the way.

The 17-game run matches the longest winning streak of Rick Barnes’ 32-year head coaching career. Barnes’ only other 17-game winning streak came in 2009-10 at Texas. That 2009-10 Texas squad started 17-0 and earned a No. 1 ranking but finished 24-10 with a first-round NCAA Tournament loss.

The Vols (21-1, 9-0 SEC) remains the only undefeated team in SEC play and push their conference regular-season winning streak to 13, which ties a program record set in the 1979-80 season. This win also was the 21st consecutive victory inside of Thompson-Boling Arena, making it the fifth-longest home win streak in school history.

Florida vs Tennessee should be an easy victory for the Vols.

Four Tennessee players finished in double figures with Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield leading the way with a game-high 13 points apiece. Jordan Bowden had 12 points, while Jordan Bone (11 points) and Lamonte Turner (nine points) helped close out the game in the second half. Nine of Bone’s 11 points came in the second half as the SEC assists leader added a game-high seven assists and four boards.

Williams was tabbed to a pair of national player of the year lists this week, earning spots on the 2018-19 Oscar Robertson Trophy Final Midseason Watch List and Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year finalist. Williams is averaging 20.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.2 steals per game. He’s also shooting 58 percent from the field and 84 percent from the charity stripe.

The junior forward is one of the best in the country at getting to the foul line, as no junior in Division I has made (435) or attempted (577) more career free throws than Williams. He ranks fourth in the country in free throws made this season with 147.

Team Stats

Offense
  • Total Score: 86.00
  • Field Goal Percentage: 51.51
  • Three-Point Percentage: 36.19
  • Free Throw Percentage: 76.55
  • Total Rebounds: 38.36

Defense

  • Total Score: 67.59
  • Field Goal Percentage: 39.16
  • Three-Point Percentage: 32.21
  • Free Throw Percentage: 63.07
  • Total Rebounds: 33.77

Florida vs Tennessee NCAA Basketball Betting Trends

  • Florida is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games
  • Florida is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games on the road
  • The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Florida’s last 9 games on the road
  • Tennessee is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games
  • Tennessee is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
  • The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tennessee’s last 9 games

Expert NCAAB Betting Prediction

Florida 62 – Tennessee 76