Florida vs Ole Miss CBB Hoops Handicapping
The No. 2 Florida Gators will aim to extend their school-record winning streak to 19 games on Saturday when they visit SEC-rival Mississippi. [ad-4468020]
Date/Time: 12 p.m. EST, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014
Venue: C.M. ‘Tad’ Smith Coliseum, Oxford, Mississippi
Broadcast: CBS
Spread: Florida -7
O/U: 134.5
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Florida has a chance to slingshot into the No. 1 ranking with a win over the Rebels after Syracuse lost to Boston College earlier this week. Nevertheless, nothing is a sure thing, as the Gators narrowly avoided a huge upset of their own recently, edging out Auburn in the waning seconds en route to a 71-66 triumph.
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Florida (24-2) improved to a perfect 13-0 with its win over the Tigers, on a little help from Scott Wilbekin, who has been lights out from the free-throw line, making 25-of-28 attempts over his last three games.
As a team, the Gators have made 62 of their last 78 attempts (79.5 percent) from the charity stripe during that span. Much improved over the 65.9 percent they were shooting previously.
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Nevertheless, they cannot rely solely on getting freebies to win games, as Wilbekin’s shooting was way off the last time he faced Mississippi, missing two free throws with just over four seconds left to end the Gators’ shot at the conference tournament title.
Meanwhile, the Gators could be also without, or at best, weak, under the boards, as center Patric Young is dealing with chronic tendinitis in his knees. The 6-9 big man is averaging 6.9 RPG and has 26 block shots.
Florida could also use a little help from beyond the arc, as forward Dorian Finney-Smith missed all four 3-point attempts on Wednesday, extending his drought to 0-for-18 in his last six games.
Meanwhile, Ole Miss won’t be easily beaten, despite suffering its third straight loss and fourth in five outings with an 84-70 setback to Kentucky on Tuesday.
The Rebels (16-10) will get a much-needed offense boost with the return of junior guard Jarvis Summers, who missed the team’s last meeting with the Gators with a concussion.
Jarvis, who is averaging 17.0 points per game, has improved his scoring and will join the Rebs’ leading scorer Marshall Henderson (19.4), who fared well, by scoring 21 points in a 66-63 victory over Florida in the SEC tournament championship on March 17, 2013.
The senior guard also fuels Ole Miss’ perimeter scoring, making five 3-pointers for the second straight game and finishing with 18 points against the Wildcats his last time out.
Free Pick:
Florida- Ole Miss owns an 0-22 mark versus teams that are ranked either first or second in the poll.
And while I expect the Gators to grab a win here, depending on the spread, a good bet may be on the Rebels,if it’s more than five points.
