Florida basketball: Betting lines and predictions for Florida vs UCF

Mar 9, 2023; Nashville, TN, USA; Florida Gators guard Riley Kugel (24) shoots over Mississippi State Bulldogs forward Tyler Stevenson (14) during the second half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2023; Nashville, TN, USA; Florida Gators guard Riley Kugel (24) shoots over Mississippi State Bulldogs forward Tyler Stevenson (14) during the second half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports /
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Florida basketball is getting set to host UCF tonight in the first round of the NIT. The 18-14 Knights make the 2-hour drive to Gainesville to take on the 16-16 Gators.

UCF is coming off of a 2nd-round loss in their conference tournament to Memphis, and the Gators are still licking their wounds from a tough overtime loss in their opener at the SEC Tournament.

Despite the better record and hotter finish to the year, UCF comes in as the underdog. The Gators currently sit as 2.5-point favorites on their home floor, but that line has been moving down since it came out.

The NIT can be hard to get a read on because you aren’t totally sure what team you’ll get from both sides. But we’ll try and break it down here and give you a direction to go if you want to bet it.

 Florida basketball: Odds vs UCF

As I said before, the Gators are 2.5-point favorites over the Knights, but the line has been moving down closer to even since it came out.

Florida opened up as 4.5-point favorites, but 60% of the bets coming in on UCF have led to that number dropping down to within a possession.

To be honest, it’s hard to give a confident play on the spread. Will the Gators come out fighting and defend their home court, or roll over after a disappointing end to the season and just play to play?

Rather than betting on the spread, betting on the total seems like a safer route to go. It opened at 141.5 and has flown up to 145.5 after 70% of the bets have backed the over.

Despite getting what may be the worst of the number, I still say the over is the play. In UCF’s last 10 games, the over has hit seven times, and it’s hit nine out of 10 in Florida’s last 10.

If you don’t want to sweat the result and just cheer for points, a unit on the over is the way to go.

Predictions: Spread is a toss-up, over 145.5.

Keep up with Florida basketball at Hail Florida Hail.