Florida vs. Georgia basketball TV info, odds, preview, prediction
The Gators look to bounce back tonight against the Bulldogs after suffering an embarrassing home loss to the Crimson Tide on Saturday night.
The Florida Gators (16-9, 7-5 SEC) and the Georgia Bulldogs (14-9, 7-5 SEC) will meet tonight in what is a pivotal game for both programs, to say the least.
More from Florida Gators Basketball
- Florida basketball: Gators in top ten for elite SG VJ Edgecombe
- Florida basketball: Can Gators close on top-100 player Sammie Yeanay?
- Florida Basketball: Gators to play in Lakeland as part of 2023-24 schedule
- Florida basketball: Gators in lead for 5-star PG Mikel Brown Jr.
- Florida Basketball: Colin Castleton makes his NBA Summer League debut
The Gators and the Bulldogs are currently involved in a four-way tie for fourth place in the SEC standings with Vanderbilt and Texas A&M — all currently sitting with a 7-5 conference record; one game behind third-place South Carolina (8-4) and two back from league-leaders LSU and Kentucky (9-3). Moreover, both teams are fighting for their respective NCAA tournament lives at this point.
You could argue that Georgia is more desperate for a victory at 14-9 overall (compared to UF’s 16-9). But every win now is critical to tournament résumés as conference foes start battling for better seeding.
Related Story: Alabama vs. Florida postgame grades
Florida leads the all-time series against the Bulldogs 110-100, but is just 37-51 in Athens — including last year’s 73-61 defeat.
The Gators are already one-up on UGA this season, having beaten the Dawgs 77-63 in the SEC opener at the O’Connell Center on Jan. 2.
Game information
Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Time: 9 PM ET
Location: Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Georgia
TV: ESPN
Livestream: WatchESPN
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network
Spread: Florida (-1.5)
Over/Under: 134
For Florida, the loss to Alabama came at the most inopportune time. With a win against the Crimson Tide, the Gators would have been right in the thick of the conference discussion heading into back-to-back road trips to Georgia and South Carolina this week.
Florida’s confidence shooting the basketball has to be an all-time low after logging their third-worst shooting performance in 20 years, going 18-of-63 from the field (28.6 percent), 3-for-21 from beyond the arc (14.3 percent) and 16-of-27 from the free-throw line (59.3 percent).
As if the shooting woes weren’t enough, Georgia enters the contest boasting both the second-best overall field goal percentage defense (.378) and three-point defense (.311). Additionally, the Gators are only 2-6 in road games, including 1-4 in the SEC, while the Bulldogs have a home record of 12-3 overall (5-1 in the league).
Prediction
Florida has struggled mightily against some of the tougher defensive teams in the conference — and that trend will likely continue against the Bulldogs, who can always be relied upon to play sound defense.
Much like the Alabama game, the matchup with Georgia will be a dogfight until the end. Don’t expect exponentially improved shooting from the Gators — though they’ll likely hit more shots tonight than they did on Saturday.
Even still, Georgia’s defense will find ways to frustrate an already lackluster Florida offense.
More gators: Where the Florida football Gators need to improve in 2016
The Bulldogs began conference play 2-3, but have since won five of seven games to put themselves in a position to play some critical games down the stretch — starting with Florida.
Georgia will cash in on its opportunity to improve its tournament chances and squeak past the Gators in another low-scoring affair.