Marquette Golden Eagles at No. 7 Florida Gators
Thursday, 11/29/12, 9:00 PM EST, TV: ESPN2
Opening Point Spread: Florida -10
Current Betting Line: Florida -11
Opening Total: 136.5
Current Total: 138.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Marquette travels to Florida Thursday night for a SEC/Big East Challenge matchup, while it also serves as a rematch of last year’s NCAA Sweet 16 encounter. The Golden Eagles suffered a 68-58 loss as one-point favorites in that affair, with the game going UNDER the posted total of 148. “Two total different teams,” stated Gators head coach Billy Donovan this week. The team is being sparked by its bench in winning five of its first six games this season, as the group is averaging 35.0 points and 22.0 rebounds per game. Marquette is 13-4 ATS as an underdog over the last two-plus seasons, with the UNDER going 11-6 in that situation.
The Golden Eagles have been led offensively by Davante Gardner, who has appeared off the bench in all six outings, averaging 14.0 points per game. Marquette has a total of 10 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game, while seven are contributing at least 5.3 points per night. Dating back to the start of the 2008-09 campaign, the program is 75-7 when finishing the game with a field goal percentage even-or-better than its opponents.
Florida owns a perfect 5-0 record to start the year, as it comes off a 79-66 win over the UCF Knights as 16-point home favorites. The Gators are 16-10 against current Big East Conference teams under Donovan’s direction, while going 2-2 ATS in that situation since 2010. Offensively, the team welcomed back three starters from a year ago, with senior guard Kenny Boynton leading the way in averaging 16.2 points per game. Florida is 2-3 ATS as a home favorite of 9.5 to 12 points over the last two-plus seasons, which can’t be ignored when making your NCAA basketball picks on Thursday night.
The Gators are shooting 46.2 percent from the floor this season, which includes knocking down 18 of their first 24 shots against the Wisconsin Badgers earlier this year—a team that led the nation in scoring defense a year ago. Florida’s first five wins have come by an average of 23.8 points, which is something to consider when looking at the college basketball odds page.
Sports bettors will likely play the total in this affair, with the OVER going 20-8 in the Gators’ last 28 home games.
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