#10 Florida Gators at Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Louis Brown Athletic Center – Piscataway, New Jersey
Thursday, December 29, 2011, 7:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN2
Opening Line: Florida -10 1/2
Current Line: Florida -9 1/2
Opening Total: 141
Current Total: 143 1/2
Opening Money Line: Florida -700 / Rutgers +550
Current Money Line: Florida -500 / Rutgers +400
The 10-2 Florida Gators are ranked #10 in the country under coach Billy Donovan. The only two losses for the Gators came at #2 Ohio St and #1 Syracuse by a total of 11 points. Florida has won 5 games in a row since the Syracuse loss. The Gators have wins over Wright St, Arizona, Texas A&M, Rider, and Florida St 82-64 last Thursday.
Florida travels to New Jersey Thursday night to face the 7-5 Rutgers Scarlet Knights, coached by Mike Rice. It one last huge non-conference test before the Scarlet Knights begin the daunting Big East schedule. This game is significant for another reason, as Florida guard Nelson Rosario returns to Rutgers after transferring a couple of seasons ago. Rosario was a star player for the Knights for two seasons scoring over 1,000 points, and even making the Big East All-Freshman team. However, he is the 8th or 9th player in the rotation for the deep Gators. He missed the last two games with back spasms but was cleared to play for this game. The New Jersey native couldn’t handle the pressure of being Rutgers’ savior to try and make a moribund program relevant in the very strong Big East.
Rutgers has wins over Dartmouth, Hampton, Monmouth, Stony Brook, and last Thursday over NJIT 77-53. The Scarlet Knights have losses to Miami-Florida, Illinois St, Richmond, LSU, and Princeton. Rutgers has won 3 games in a row since the Princeton loss. Florida leads the series 4-1 against Rutgers, but the two teams have never met in Piscataway. The Gators won the last meeting 73-58 in 2009 in a tournament in Atlantic City.
Florida is outscoring opponents 86-66 this season. The Gators are shooting 47.8% from the field including 39.9% from 3 point range. Florida makes 64.1% of their free throws. The Gators average 40.2 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +7.3. Florida averages 17.3 assists, 11.8 turnovers, 8.8 steals, and 3.6 blocks a game. Florida opponents are shooting 40.9% from the field including 29.5% from 3 point range. The Gators force 15.4 turnovers a game.
Florida guard Kenny Boynton averages 18.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.1 steals a game. He makes 44.3% of his 3 point attempts. Bradley Beal averages 15.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.4 steals a game. He is shooting 35.7% from beyond the arc. Erving Walker averages 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.2 assists to lead the team, and 1.3 steals a game. He shoots 36.8% from 3 point range. Patric Young averages 11.3 points, 7.3 rebounds to lead the team, 1.7 assists, and 1.3 blocks a game to lead the team. Erik Murphy averages 9.6 points and 4.4 rebounds a game. Rosario averages 9.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists a game. Murphy and Roasario each shoot over 41% from 3 point range. Cody Larson is probable with a throat infection.
Rutgers is outscoring opponents 69-61 this season. The Scarlet Knights are shooting 44.3% from the field including 33.1% from 3 point range. Rutgers makes 71.5% of their free throws. The Knights average 36.9 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +5.7. Rutgers averages 12.8 assists, 15.7 turnovers, 9.4 steals, and 4.6 blocks a game. Rutgers opponents are shooting 38.8% from the field and 31.6% from 3 point range. Rutgers forces 17.2 turnovers a game.
Rutgers forward Gilvydas Biruta averages 11.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.1 steals a game. He leads the Scarlet Knights in scoring and rebounding. Eli Carter averages 11.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals a game. Myles Mack averages 10.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.7 steals a game to lead the team. Jerome Seagears averages 7.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists a game to lead the team. Dane Miller leads the the team in blocks with 2 a game. Guard Malick Kone (knee) and forward Kadeem Jack (foot) are both out indefinitely.
Rutgers is 0-6 against the spread and the total is 1-5 this season. Florida is 4-3 ATS and the total is 6-1 this season. The Gators are 4-0 ATS in Thursday games, 3-0-1 in road games, 4-0-1 in road games against teams with winning home records, 13-3 in road games after 3 or more straight home games, 8-2 against Big East teams, 12-4-1 against teams with winning records, 10-4-1 after a straight up win, 10-4 in non-conference games, and 12-5-1 overall. The Scarlet Knights are 5-2-1 ATS in Thursday games, 3-8 after a straight up win of 20 points or more, 3-10-1 after a straight up win, 0-8 at home, 0-4 against teams with winning records, 0-10-1 in non-conference games, 0-6 overall, 0-4-1 against SEC teams, and 0-7 in home games against teams with losing road records.
Rutgers hasn’t covered yet this season, and the Knights haven’t faced a team as talented as the Gators. The only chance Rutgers has to win is to slow down the quick and speedy Gators and force them into the half court offense. It won’t be easy as the Gators are 5th in the nation in scoring with almost 90 points a game. Florida should win this easily and cover the 9 1/2 point spread.
