The Florida Gators are making a statement in the SEC Tournament, especially after defeating the league’s regular season champions. It’s not about to get easy for them, though, as the Gators will face next the surging Auburn Tigers, who are +6,000 to win the national title. Florida, meanwhile, is +25,000 to take home a national championship trophy.
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Betting Preview for the Florida Gators vs. Auburn Tigers College Basketball Game on March 16, 2019
Where: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville
When: Saturday, March 16, 2019, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Florida Gators (odds) vs. Auburn Tigers (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Florida Gators (19-14 Overall / 9-9 Conference)
The Gators are among the hottest teams in the SEC going towards the end of the regular season until running into a wall in the form a three-game losing skid. They are hot again, tjough, having stitched together two wins in a tow to start the SEC Tournament. That includes their shocking 76-73 upset win over the LSU Tigers on Friday. The Gators rallied from 13 points down and resorted to a 3-point shot by Andrew Nembhard with a second left in regulation to get the upset victory and a ticket to the semifinals of the SEC tourney. The freshman finisedh the game with 20 points, so the Gators are expecting Nembhard to stay hot. Another thing Florida is hoping to get from its players is better outside sniping and tighter security of the ball. In a 76-62 road loss to Auburn in February, the Gators shot just 4-for-20 from behind the arc and had 17 turnovers to just 10 by Auburn. The Tigers are known defensive pests, so Floruda will have to be extra careful on offense.
Florida, which is 16th in the nation with just 63.3 points allowed per game, is 3-0 against the spread (ATS) in its last three contests.
Betting on the Auburn Tigers (24-9 Overall / 11-7 Conference)
Auburn has muscled up some great wins in the SEC Tournament, too. In the second round, the Tigers downed the Missouri Tigerss, 81-71, and followed that up with a 73-64 mild upset win over the South Carolina Gamecocks. Auburn has been scorching hot since late February, as the Tigers are currently 6-0 SU in their last six games. That stretch includes a huge 84-80 upset win at home over the then No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers. Auburn’s defense has been on overdrive of late, as they have averaged 79.3 points in their last three games, scoring at least 81 games in two of those. The backcourt tandem of Bryce Brown and Jared Harper is experienced and is on a roll right now. Brown had 19 points in the win over South Carolina, while the diminutive Harper exploded for 27 points. Harper is hard to contain because of his small speed and size, and he uses those to his advantage perfectly, as evidenced by his going 12-for-14 from the free throw line against the Gamecocks. Auburn is a solid 3-point shooting team. It knocked down nine 3-pointer in the win over Florida and is fifth in the nation with 11.3 threes made per contest.
Auburn is 4-0 ATS in its last four games.
Writer’s Prediction
Auburn wins, 68-66.
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