Florida vs. Nevada: Prediction, pick, line, spread, odds, 2019 NCAA Tournament live stream

Basketball

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Image Credit: Graphic by Michael Nash

After flirting with the bubble for the entire second half of the season, the Florida Gators turned on the jets when necessary late and locked up a bid in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. That bid netted the Gators a No. 10 seed and put them face-to-face with the No. 7 seed Nevada Wolfpack in first-round action on Thursday.

Florida (19-15) sits as an underdog against Nevada (29-4), which ran through its conference but is not necessarily beloved as a team expected to make a run in this year’s tournament. The Gators are not historically successfully as a No. 10 seed or underdog in tourney play, but the way they have played late gives them a great shot to pull off an upset and advance on Saturday evening.

Will it happen? Let’s take a look at what you need to know and how you can watch Florida-Nevada.

Viewing information

Date: Thursday, March 21 | Time: 6:50 p.m. ET
Location: Wells Fargo Arena — Des Moines, Iowa (Capacity: 16,110)

TV: TNT (Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Dan Bonner, Dana Jacobson)
Live stream: March Madness Live | SiriusXM: 201 | Radio: WRUF, TuneIn

Live updates: @OnlyGators on Twitter

Tale of the tape

Prediction and analysis

Spread: Florida +3 | O/U: 134

The Gators have been rolling this postseason, and there’s no reason to think that’s going to stop now against a Wolfpack team that has cooled off significantly and is 1-7 against the spread in its last eight games. With Jalen Hudson playing better, Kevarrius Hayes efforting the best work of his entire college career and the freshmen getting a nice rest after hitting a wall late in the season, Florida should be able to out-talent Nevada. That means a cover and potentially a straight-up sprinkle if you’re so inclined. I’m not sure that the ‘Pack have seen anything like the Gators’ defense in quiet some time, so let’s roll under and continue our combined 11-3-1 run this season on Florida.

2018-19 records: ATS picks 6-1-1 | O/U picks 5-2

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 and Nevada have never met in basketball.
» The Gators are 43-17 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, 4-2 under White, with six consecutive appearances in the Round of 32 or beyond (2011-14, 2017-18).
» UF is 16-5 all-time in the Round of 64 but 0-2 as a No. 10 seed. It has never been a lower seed.
» White is the first coach in program history to earn NCAA Tournament berths in three of his first four seasons.
» Florida enters the NCAA Tournament 4-12 in Quadrant 1 games with two wins over ranked opponents (2-9).
» Florida is 12-23 against AP Top 25 teams and 3-8 against top 10 teams under White.
» The Gators have faced four top 10 opponents over their last five games (1-3).
» Florida is 5-10 when shooting below 40 percent from the field this season, 14-5 when shooting above 40 percent and nearly undefeated (11-1) when hitting more than 46 percent of their shots. The Gators are 2-1 in overtime.
» Allen enters sixth in program history in scoring (1,702) 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 (.880) and is third in three-point attempts (733) and sixth in makes (247). This will mark Allen’s 132nd career start, second-most in program history.
» Hayes is second in program history with 211 blocks.