South Carolina vs. Florida NCAAB Preview
Where: Exatech Arena – Gainesville, FL
When: Tuesday, February 21, 2017, 7:00 PM ET
Line: South Carolina Gamecocks (+10) at Florida Gators (-10) – view all NCAA basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Writer’s Pick: Florida Gators (-10)
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Betting on the South Carolina Gamecocks (20-7, 10-4 SEC)
South Carolina is in the midst of its worst slump of the season. The No. 21-ranked Gamecocks have lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, as they went down at home to Arkansas (83-76) and at Vanderbilt (71-62). They’ve lost three of their last four overall.
The excellent defense which has been SC’s calling card for most of the season and is currently No. 3 per KenPom.com has slipped recently. The Gamecocks gave up 83 points on 53 percent shooting against Arkansas. That’s way up from the 68 points and 42 percent they’re allowing to opponents during conference play.
Meanwhile, the offense hasn’t produced enough despite Sindarius Thornwell’s terrific play. The senior guard is averaging 30 points over his last four games, which included his monstrous 44-point, 21-rebound performance in a losing effort against Bama. Thornwell had 20 points in South Carolina’s 57-54 win over Florida earlier this season.
The Gamecocks held the Gators to just 35 percent shooting in that game, and they’ll need to come up with another stellar defensive performance to come out of Gainesville with a win. SC has historically come away empty in visits to Florida, going 1-8 in their last 9 games dating back to 2006.
However, the Gamecocks have always found a way of making it more competitive than expected on the road. They’re an incredible 9-1 against the spread against Florida over their last 10 meetings in Gainesville.
Betting on the Florida Gators (22-5, 12-2 SEC)
No. 15 Florida retained its share of the SEC lead by surviving at Mississippi State to pull off a 57-52 road win. That extended their impressive winning streak to eight games. They’ve gone 6-2 against the spread during that span.
That Mississippi State game was the Gators’ first without junior center John Egbunu, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury in their previous game against Auburn. Sophomore Kevarrius Hayes got the start in his place, and played very well with 9 points and 10 rebounds.
The Gators have a pivotal, potential conference-deciding matchup against co-leaders Kentucky in Lexington on Saturday. But they must be careful not to overlook their game against the Gamecocks, who always seem to give them a fight in Florida.
Florida’s defense played very well against SC in their first meeting, limiting the Gamecocks offense to just 29 percent shooting. That Gator D is right up there with South Carolina’s, ranking No. 4 in KenPom.com’s defensive efficiency metric.
That excellent defense has helped the Gators to a 6-1 home record during conference play. That includes a huge 88-64 beatdown of Kentucky earlier this month.
Writer’s Prediction
Florida (-10) edges out South Carolina in another low-scoring affair but the Gamecocks cover in another close game.
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