NCAA Betting Predictions: Ohio State Buckeyes at Florida Gators

Ohio State Buckeyes at Florida Gators
Tuesday, 11/16/10, 6:00 PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Florida -1.5
Current Betting Line: Florida -1.5

The Florida Gators are 44-1 SU at home during the month of November under head coach Billy Donovan

Ohio State improved to 86-22 all-time in season openers with a 102-61 win over North Carolina A&T and will now face Florida for the first time as ranked opponents since the 2007 national title game. The Buckeyes have met the Gators 10 times previously, owning a 6-4 advantage in the series, including a 62-49 win in Columbus on December 22, 2007. The team got its opener out of the way and the focus in practice has been pinpointed towards this contest. “Our intensity in practice prepares us for all of the big games,” said senior forward David Lauderdale. “The way we practice makes all of the games easier.” The team is still in search of a point guard at this point of the season, which was also a hurdle it had to overcome last year, as star Evan Turner stepped into the role. Ohio State is 11-10 ATS on the road the past three years and the college basketball lines page has them as a slight underdog this afternoon.

The Buckeyes return four starters from the 2009-10 team that have played a combined 402 games at Ohio State and 297 starts between them. With all that experience, the team will only benefit in mixing in a pair of McDonald’s All-Americans that have already had a huge impact in the opener. Forward Jared Sullinger scored 19 points and grabbed 14 boards in his debut, while fellow forward Deshaun Thomas had 24 points and eight rebounds. The program has an all-time record of 134-221 versus ranked opponents in the AP Top 25, including a 54-112 mark against Top 10 foes.

Florida is set to play its second game in a season that many believe will lead the program deep into the NCAA Tournament again. The Gators cruised to a 77-60 win over UNC Wilmington on Friday and now get set to face just the sixth top five team in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center this decade. This is the first matchup of top 10 teams at the venue since the team defeated the Buckeyes, 86-60, on December 23, 2006. Head coach Bill Donovan has a deep group of talented players at his disposal, but it’s also a young inexperienced squad. “We’ve got to get more disciplined,” Donovan stated. “I think that we have a team that can press.” The team is 14-15 ATS at home the past three years and 20-22 ATS as a favorite.

The Gators have compiled a 15-26 record versus opponents from the Big Ten Conference and produced a 7-6 mark against such foes under the guidance of Donovan. Florida will be looking to go 2-0 for the ninth consecutive year and tally its 11th win over a top five opponent in the Donovan era. The program has collected only six wins over ranked opponents in the month of November in school history. That mark could certainly improve when considering its posted a 44-1 mark at home during the month with Billy Donovan as head coach.

Bettors will find that the Buckeyes are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games as an underdog of 0.5 to 6.5 points, while the GAtors are 3-7 ATS versus the Big Ten Conference.