Florida basketball: Gators look for bounce back win on the road against Ole Miss

Florida is looking to pick up their first conference win in Oxford tonight against the 13-1 Rebels
Jan 6, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators forward Tyrese Samuel (4) and Florida Gators
Jan 6, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators forward Tyrese Samuel (4) and Florida Gators / Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
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Florida basketball fell in a hard fought battle on Saturday to the Kentucky Wildcats in their SEC opener, in a game where they had a few chances to pull away and win.

Tonight, they hit the road looking for a bounce-back win as they travel to Oxford, Mississippi to take on the Ole Miss Rebels.

Ole Miss has a 13-1 record, but they aren't a very battle-tested team, which showed in their 90-64 loss to Tennessee over the weekend.

If the Gators can put it all together tonight and avoid wasting opportunities, they can walk out of Oxford with an SEC win.

Florida basketball: It's never easy away from home

Tonight's game tips off at 9 pm ET, and will be on the SEC Network. The Gators opened up as 1.5-point favorites, but that line has now gone out to 2.5 in favor of Florida. They're -135 on the money line, and the over/under for this game is set at 158.5.

When comparing the two teams, Florida has been a much better offense, putting up 86.2 points per game compared to the Rebels' 76.4. The Gators also have a big advantage on the glass, grabbing 45.2 boards per game compared to 34.7 for Ole Miss.

The Gators will need to contain Matthew Murrell, Ole Miss' top scorer. The senior guard is scoring 16.4 points per game on 46.8% shooting from the field, including a 38.6% rate from three-point range.

For Florida, they'll be looking to build off of big games from their two guards Walter Clayton Jr. and Zyon Pullin, who both scored 23 points on Saturday. The Gators also got to see Riley Kugel look like his old self with 15 against the Wildcats.

As long as Florida doesn't get too rattled on the road and they stick to what they do well, there's no reason they can't go get a W tonight against the Rebels.