The No. 16 Alabama Crimson Tide take on the Florida Gators in an SEC matchup on Tuesday, March 5. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and the game will air on ESPN.
Alabama (20-9, 12-4 SEC) defeated the Gators earlier this season, grabbing a 98-93 home win. Since then, they have gone 1-2, falling against Kentucky and Tennessee and beating Ole Miss. They now visit Gainesville with just a few games remaining in the regular season. Alabama ranks eighth at KenPom and first in adjusted offensive efficiency, leading the country in scoring with 90.9 points per game. However, their defense often falls short, as they allow 79.3 points per game, ranking outside the top 300 scoring defenses in the country.
Guard Latrell Wrightsell has missed Alabama’s last four games and is considered day-to-day ahead of Tuesday’s matchup. Mark Sears leads the team with 20.7 points per game. The Tide won the rebounding battle the last time they played Florida to set them apart, and will need to be crashing the boards again on Tuesday evening.
Florida (20-9, 10-6 SEC) is coming off a loss to South Carolina. Walter Clayton Jr. led the team with 20 points, and the Gators shot well from the perimeter, but they gave up twice as many free throw attempts as the Gamecocks. Florida ranks 31st at KenPom and 15th in adjusted offensive efficiency. They average 84.4 points per game (8th in the nation) and lead the nation in total rebounds per game with 43.3.
Alabama vs. Florida odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: Florida -1.5
Total: 176.5
Moneyline: Florida -125, Alabama +105
Pick: Over 176.5
This is a tough one — Florida could absolutely swing this one their way, or Alabama could pull together their best offensive performance of the season if the rhythm is right. I’m most confident in an over pick in this matchup. After the 191-point total between these two teams the last time they played, we should see something similar between teams that rank in the top three in adjusted offensive efficiency and outside the top 100 in adjusted defensive efficiency.