Florida vs. LSU: Prediction, pick, line, spread, odds, SEC Tournament live stream online

Basketball

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Image Credit: Graphic by Michael Nash

Coming off a key victory in the second round of the 2019 SEC Tournament, the eight-seed Florida Gators are looking to make a statement just days out from Selection Sunday. There’s a chance that Florida has already played its way into the 2019 NCAA Tournament, but the Gators certainly cannot take that for granted considering their three-game losing streak to end the regular season, including an unfathomable loss to Georgia.

The top-seeded No. 9 LSU Tigers present another opportunity for Florida to take down a top-tier ranked opponent and absolutely lock up a bid in the Big Dance. Will that happen?Let’s take a look at what you need to know and how you can watch Florida-LSU III on Friday afternoon.

Viewing information

Date: Friday, March 15 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Bridgestone Arena — Nashville, Tennessee (Capacity: 19,395)

TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes, Laura Rutledge)
Live stream: WatchESPN.com | SiriusXM: 134/190/381 | Radio: WRUF, TuneIn

Live updates: @OnlyGators on Twitter

Tale of the tape

Prediction and analysis

Spread: Florida +3 | O/U: 135.5

LSU won its lone game without its head coach as Will Wade has been suspended indefinitely by the school as it investigates alleged cheating allegations. The Tigers also had a double bye in the SEC Tournament, while the Gators just played Thursday and led Arkansas by as many as 16 points late in the game. There are a number of angles one can take when attempting to evaluate this game, but it’s honestly tough to get a read considering the myriad factors, including how poor some of Florida’s top players have looked over the last two weeks.

But when you look at the prior meetings, the Gators and Tigers are a great matchup for one another. The teams split the regular-season series 1-1 with each winning a road game in overtime in the other’s house. In regulation, these teams were dead even; adding overtime, UF was four points better than LSU when you combine the results. The games also had an average total of 158 points considering the extra periods. So let’s roll with what history has told us — the Gators and the over.

2018-19 records: ATS picks 5-1 | O/U picks 4-1

Projected starting five

PG Andrew Nembhard, freshman (6-foot-5, 191 pounds)
G KeVaughn Allen, senior (6-foot-2, 193 pounds)
G Jalen Hudson, redshirt senior (6-foot-6, 195 pounds)
G Noah Locke, freshman (6-foot-3, 205 pounds)
F Keyontae Johnson (6-foot-5, 225 pounds)
F/C Kevarrius Hayes, senior (6-foot-9, 227 pounds)

Game notes

» Florida is just 47-64 all-time against LSU, including 4-2 under White. The Gators do, however, have a 6-4 edge against the Tigers in their last 10 meetings. The teams split their season series 1-1 with each winning on the road in overtime.
» UF is now 3-11 in Quadrant 1 games this season and has just one win over a ranked opponent (1-8).
» Florida is 11-22 against AP Top 25 teams and 2-8 against top 10 teams under White.
» The Gators are facing a top 10 opponent for the third time in four games.
» Florida is 5-10 when shooting below 40 percent from the field this season, 13-4 when shooting above 40 percent and undefeated (10-0) when hitting more than 46 percent of their shots. The Gators are 2-1 in overtime.

» Allen enters sixth in program history in scoring (1,684) and has an opportunity to enter the top five before the ending the season. He also has the best free throw percentage in program history (.878) and is third in three-point attempts (724) and sixth in makes (245). This will mark Allen’s 130th career start, second-most in program history.
» Hayes is second in program history with 208 blocks.