The Florida Gators and the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers will meet again this Saturday, this time in Knoxville. The Vols got the better of Florida earlier this season, and will look to sweep their regular season series, while the Gators are simply eyeing to get back in the win column at the expense of the nation’s top-ranked team as of the moment. The Gators are +15,000 to win the national title, while the Volunteers are +700 to be the last team standing.
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Betting Preview for the Florida Gators vs. Tennessee Volunteers College Basketball Game on February 9, 2019
Where: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville TN
When: Saturday, February 9, 2019, 4:00 PM ET
Line: Florida Gators (odds) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Florida Gators (12-10 Overall / 4-5 Conference)
The Gators suffered yet another setback on Tuesday, when they fell prey to the Auburn Tigers om the road to the tune of a 76-62 score. It was their second loss in a row, having lost also th the Kentucky Wildcats at home last Saturday, 65-54. The Gators could have used a win in at least one of those games to buoy up their spirits heading into a rematch with the No. 1 Tennessee Titans, who beat Florida back in Jan. 12 in Gainesville, 78-67. In that game, Florida relied heavily on their outside shot and on the pair of KeVaugh Allen and Noah Locke. The Gators shot 12-for-32 from deep against the Vols, while Allen and Locke had 16 and 18 points, respectively. No other Gator produced more than eight points, though, and if Florida wants to keep in step with a team like Tennessee, the Gators are going to need some more guns to show up besides Allen and Locke. Also, Florida’s stout defense will have to manifest, which it failed to do in the first meeting with Tennessee.
The Gators, who are 14th in the nation with just 63.4 points allowed per game, are 3-6 straight up (SU) and 4-5 against the spread (ATS).
Betting on the Tennessee Volunteers (21-1 Overall / 9-0 Conference)
Tennessee remains unblemished in conference play, as the Vols made sure no upset was going to happen Tuesday night, when they repulsed the Missouri Tigers at home, 72-60. Despite their 17-game unbeaten run dating back to non-conference play, the Vols have looked shaky in portions of some of their most recent games. They may have been able to shrug it off because four of their last five opponents are sub -100 KenPom teams, but they will have to play with a lot more focus against Florida, which may be struggling, but is ranked 36th overall by KenPom. In any case, the Vols have the psychological advantage in this matchup, having defeated Florida earlier this season as mentioned above. Even Florida’s vaunted defense was not able to stop reigning SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams, who had 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field against the Gators. As a team, Tennessee made 62.5 percent of their shots inside the arc in that game and 39.3 percent from behind it (9-for-23). They also defended well, limiting Florida to rely mostly on 3-point shots while holding the Gators down to only seven 2-point field goals on 22 attempts.
The Vols are 15-0 straight up (SU) and 6-6-1 against the spread (ATS), going 4-2 ATS in their last six home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Tennessee wins, 75-63.
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