The 12th-ranked
Florida Gators try for their sixth straight win when they host South Carolina in
a nationally televised contest on ESPN2. Game time is 9:00 PM ET at the Stephen
C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville.
In the NCAA
basketball odds, the Gators opened favored by -15 but the spread is now 14.5
with the total holding at 135.
Florida
(17-4 SU, 8-7-1 ATS) is coming off a 69-57 victory
over Mississippi State on Saturday. Bradley Beal scored 19 points and shot 6 of
9 while Erik Murphy added 14, hitting 4 of 7 from 3-point range. The Gators improved
to 13-0 at home this season and have posted 17 consecutive wins overall at the
O’Connell Center. During their current five-game winning streak, Erving Walker
and Kenny Boynton have combined for 39 assists and 10 turnovers and the
backcourt has provided a consistent scoring presence with the trio of starting guards averaging a combined
43.9 points per game.
South
Carolina (9-11, 7-8 ATS) has lost five of
six and has a tough week ahead. The Gamecocks, who are 1-5 in conference play,
will go from the proverbial frying pan to the fire. After tonight’s battle
against Florida they’ll face No. 1 Kentucky on Saturday.
In their last
outing, SC suffered a 66-62 at Mississippi on Saturday. Malik Cooke scored 17
points but missed a late free throw that could have tied the game. In order to
pull off the upset, the Gamecocks will need to give Cooke a little help on the
offensive end. He's averaging a team-best 12.7 points and leads the team in
assists, rebounds, field goal percentage and steals. Cooke is the best player
on a South Carolina team that's second-to-last in the SEC in scoring at 62.9
per game.
Despite its
struggles, the Gamecocks have made strides on defense, holding teams to 61.0
points and 45.3 percent shooting the last three games. They’ll need that and
then some to beat the Gators who are averaging 85.3 per game while allowing
61.9 points per game.
First Meeting
Florida beat South
Carolina 79-65 in their first meeting on January 14. Six Gators finished in double figures, with three scoring at
least 14. Florida went 12 of 24 from beyond the arc, led by Boynton, who was 4 of
7.
The Gamecocks have
now dropped eight straight against Top 25 opponents, though they defeated
Gators 72-69 in Gainesville last January 15.
Gator Bait
It’s hard to imagine a scenario where SC comes into
Gainesville and beats Billy Donovan’s club. The
Gators, with its three guard lineup, are putting up monster numbers. They lead
the nation in made 3-point field goals per game with 10.6 per outing, and also
leads the nation in assist to turnover ratio at 1.55. Florida is tops in the
SEC in scoring (80.7 ppg),is eighth nationally and leads the country in made
three-pointers (10.6 per game).
Five players average
in double figures led by Boynton (17.2 points per game). The other two guards
in Florida’s unique lineup are Beal (14.1 ppg) and Walker (12.6 ppg) while orwards
Patric Young (11.4 ppg) and Erik Murphy (10.6) give the Gators a formidable inside presence.
The Series
Florida holds a
38-22 lead in the all-time series with South Carolina, including a 17-7
advantage in games played in Gainesville.
The two teams have
split the season series in each of the last three seasons.
Trends
The road team is
16-5-1 ATS in the last 22 series meetings and South Carolina is 5-2-1 vs. the
number in the last eight games of the series.
Florida is 11-5 to
the over this season and 20-6 to the high side in its last 26 home games.
Harvey’s
Take: Florida should win this won handily unless Donovan calls off the dogs. My NCAA basketball picks tonight will be small as I lay the lumber with the Gators and take the
‘over’ as well.
Good luck!