Florida basketball vs. Ohio State TV info, odds, preview, prediction
It’s a clash between the second and third seeds when Florida basketball travels to Columbus, Ohio to meet Ohio State in Round 2 of the NIT.
The No. 2 seed Florida Gators (20-14) advanced to the second round of the NIT after pummeling North Florida 97-68 Tuesday night in Jacksonville.
This season marks Florida’s 10th trip to the NIT. After the win over UNF, UF improved its tournament record to 12-11 and 3-2 on the road.
The Gators claim the top seed in their bracket quadrant and would be playing back home in Gainesville if not for the current O’Connell Center renovations. Instead, they’ll take on the No. 3 seed Ohio State Buckeyes (21-13), who also advanced on Tuesday by defeating in-state foe Akron by a score of 72-63.
Florida Gators
The winner of this matchup will face the winner of the other quadrant semifinal — George Washington (24-10) at Monmouth (28-7) — for a trip to Madison Square Garden for the tournament semifinals.
What makes this game even more interesting is the fact that both teams will be competing without one of their respective leading scorers and rebounders.
UF’s center John Egbunu (11.5 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game) underwent season-ending surgery Thursday to repair the torn ligament in his thumb. Hayes, who will be replacing Egbunu, has played limited minutes this season and is prone to getting in foul trouble. If that trend continues, head coach Mike White may be forced to make some adjustments: using Finney-Smith as a “five” and Robinson at the “four”, along with three guards. It’s not ideal, but the options are limited when Egbunu is out.
Meanwhile OSU’s forward Jae’Sean Tate (11.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg) had season-ending shoulder surgery in late February. Additionally, Tate was a huge presence on the defensive end as he helped the Buckeyes become the best shot-blocking team in the country (5.3 pg).
Overall, Florida trails the all-time series against Ohio State 4-8, with the Buckeyes claiming the last three contests.
Game information
Date: Sunday, Mar. 20, 2016
Time: Noon ET
Location: Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
TV: ESPN
Livestream: WatchESPN
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network
Spread: Ohio State (-1)
Over/Under: 139.5
Related Story: Analyzing the Gators' 2016 football schedule
Florida played arguably its best half of the season in the first 20 minutes against North Florida.
The Gators scored 57 points on 54-percent shooting, including an impressive 12-for-18 from beyond the arc (66.6 percent). Sure, it may have been against one of the worst defenses in the nation. And they may have been wide open looks. But still, they were hitting shots from deep — something they couldn’t do for most of the season.
Defensively, UF executed its gameplan to perfection. The Gators held the Ospreys — a team that hit 402 threes this season and averaged nearly 13 makes per game — went just 9-for-25 (36 percent).
Replicating those defensive efforts will be paramount Sunday afternoon against Ohio State — which has proven to be particularly tough to beat at home this season.
The Buckeyes may have finished seventh in the Big Ten with an 11-7 conference record, but they managed to go 15-5 at home, with three of those losses coming against heavyweights Virginia, Michigan State and Maryland.
OSU did notch some notable wins this season, defeating Southeastern Conference regular-season co-champion and league tournament champion Kentucky 74-67 in the CBS Sports Classic in New York back on Dec. 21 and another upset of then-No. 8 Iowa in the Buckeyes’ regular-season home finale.
Prediction
It all comes down to how Florida executes on both ends of the floor.
It sounds simple enough, but when the Gators play defense with energy and they’re hitting their shots, they’re a team to be reckoned with. Just ask West Virginia. Or more recently, North Florida.
More gators: Spring analysis of the Gators' offense
In Ohio State’s seven conference defeats, it lost by an average margin of 18.5 points per game.
It won’t get that ugly on Sunday. And the Gators likely won’t shoot nearly as well as they did Tuesday night against the Ospreys. But Florida’s intensity on the defensive end will mask its inconsistent offense and overwhelm the Buckeyes all afternoon.
Florida advances to Round 3 of the NIT after securing a solid road win over Ohio State.