Florida Gators vs Tennessee Volunteers Betting Pick & Prediction 1/16/24

Planning on watching today’s Gators and Volunteers game? Catch the action at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN, as the Volunteers hosts this showdown at 5:00 ET on ESPN. The odds for this Southeastern conference game currently have the Volunteers as the betting favorite with the over/under line sitting at 159.5 points.

FLORIDA GATORS VS TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Florida Gators +9.5

This game will be played at Thompson-Boling Arena at 5:00 ET on Tuesday, January 16th.

WHY BET THE FLORIDA GATORS:

• We have this one finishing with a projected score of 75-70 in favor of the Volunteers.
• Even though we have Tennessee winning straight-up, we like Florida at +9.5.
• The over/under is currently sitting at 159.5 points, and we like the under with a projected 145 points.

Can Florida Pull Out the Win as Road Underdogs?

Florida enters this game as a 9.5-point underdog, and they are 11-5 overall this season. They have gone 2-4 on the road compared to 9-1 at home, and their average scoring margin on the road is -2.7.

Recently, the Gators have gone 1-2 on the road, and they are coming off a 90-68 win against Arkansas. So far, they have been favored in 15 of their 16 games, going 11-4 in those contests.

As the underdog, Florida has struggled vs. the spread this season, going 0-1 and just 3-6-1 in their last 10 games as the underdog. On the road, the Gators are just 2-4 vs. the spread this year and 3-7 in their last 10 road games.

When looking at the over/under record for the Florida Gators this season, it sits at 11-4-1. So far, their games have averaged 162.4 points, and today’s over/under line of 159.5 is similar to the average OU line in their games (154). This year, 13 of their games have had lower over/under lines than today’s OU line, and their average margin versus the OU line is 8.3 points. Over their last three games, the over/under record is 2-1, and the average scoring total in those games is 172 points.

Florida’s offense is coming off a strong performance vs. Arkansas, finishing the game with a total of 90 points. Their season average is now 86.4 points per game. Riley Kugel led the scoring for the Gators, contributing 20 points. Additionally, Tyrese Samuel chipped in with 17 points.

At present, the Gators’ defense is nationally ranked 243rd, allowing 76.0 points per game. On average, opposing teams are hitting 6.9 threes per game vs. Tennessee. This has come on three-point shooting percentage of 33.4%.

Can the Volunteers Lock in a Home Win?

After winning their last game against Georgia by a score of 85-79, Tennessee comes into this matchup with a record of 12-4. So far this season, the Volunteers have been perfect at home, going 9-0.

Over their last ten games at home, Tennessee has gone 9-1. For the year, they have an average scoring margin of +21.8 points per game when playing at home.

As the favorite, Tennessee has gone 6-6-1 against the spread this season and they are 4-5-1 vs. the spread in their last 10 games as the favorite. At home, the Volunteers have an ATS record of 4-4-1 this year and they are 2-1 vs. the spread in their last 3 home games.

Today’s over/under line of 159.5 is higher than the average over/under line in Tennessee’s games this year (140.5). So far, 13 of their games have finished with fewer points than today’s over/under line. However, the average scoring total in their last three games is 155 points.

Coming off a good offensive performance, Tennessee’s offense scored 85 points against Georgia. Their field goal percentage for the game was 47.5%, and they went 18/23 from the free-throw line. The team’s top scorer is Dalton Knecht, who enters today’s matchup with an average of 17.2, while Jonas Aidoo also carries a PPG average of 11.2 into the game.

This season, the Tennessee defense has been impressive, holding the 60th position in the country while permitting an average of 66.0 points per contest. Tennessee’s three-point defense is currently 117th in the country at 6.9 made threes per game. In terms of overall field goal percentage, opponets have hit 38.3% of their shots vs. Tennessee.