Tennessee at Florida
Time: 4 PM ET, Jan 25, 2014
Spread: FLA -9
M/L: FLA -450; TEN +360
O/U: 129
Betting odds courtesy of 5dimes
The No. 6 ranked Florida Gators are 16-2 on the season and 5-0 in ACC play and will host the Tennessee Volunteers in ACC play in a game college basketball oddsmakers are favoring the Gators by 9-points.
Florida has not lost since Dec 2, when the team fell to then-No. 12 UConn. The last two contests have been close. Florida won 68-62 over Auburn on Thursday night (Jan 23) and defeated Auburn 68-61 on Jan 18.
Casey Prather leads the Gators in scoring with 17.1 points per game, and he is third on the team in rebounding with 5.6 boards per contest. Prather has a much bigger role this season in seeing 28.8 minutes and 10.4 shots per game.
Last season, as a junior, Prather played 17 minutes a game, and in the two seasons prior as an underclassman, he saw less than 10 minutes a game. Last season’s sample indicated he could assume this role, however, as he shot 62.2 percent from the floor last season.
Senior point guard Scottie Wilbeken is having his finest season as a Gator. He assumed a starting role last season and shot 45.3 percent from the floor, and while his efficiency is down this season (39.1 percent), he’s hitting more threes as a higher clip and leading the team in assists, too (3.6 per game). Wilbeken has even managed to become a thefts master in the past two season, with 1.5 steals per game last season and 1.8 per game this year.
Tennessee beat Arkansas 81-74 on Jan 22 to improve to 3-2 in SEC play. Jordan McRae had a monster game, with 34 points on 9-of-18 from the floor, 12-of-14 from the free throw line.
McRae, a 6’6″ senior guard, is averaging a team high 19.2 points per game on the season. He’s been inconsistent, but when he’s on, he’s very good. McRae was nearly invisible in the loss to Texas A&M on Jan 11, attempting just eight shots and hitting two. But he’s still scored 17 or more in four of his past five games.
Jarnell Stokes has been solid down low for Tennessee. The 6’8″ junior forward is nearly averaging a double-double with 13.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. He was huge in the loss to Kentucky on Jan 18, scoring 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and grabbing 15 rebounds.
Stokes also had 15 & 15 in the victory over LSU on Jan 7. Stokes is playing at about the same level he did as a sophomore, but not shooting quite as well. It’s early in the season still, but last year he shot 52.8 percent and he’s at 46.6 percent to-date. Still, Stokes will test Florida’s toughness.
Tennessee Trends: UNDER 5-2-1 in last 8 vs SEC; 14-6 ATS in last 20 road games; 16-7 in last 23 Saturday games.
Florida Trends: UNDER 8-1 in last 9 Saturday games; UNDER 10-3-1 in last 14 vs SEC; 2-6-1 ATS in last 9 Saturday games.
Head-to-head: OVER 8-3 in last 11 meetings in Florida.
