Wildcats and Gators collide in matchup of SEC's best
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
02/07/2012 - Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The eighth-ranked Florida Gators have a tough task ahead of them, as they invade Rupp Arena this evening, to take on the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats in a battle between the Southeastern Conference's top two squads.
Kentucky is currently in sole possession of first place in the SEC standings with a perfect 9-0 record in league play. Florida trails by just 1.5 games as it enters with a 7-1 mark in SEC action. This will be the 124th meeting in the all-time series. The Wildcats hold a 90-33 edge in the rivalry after winning the last two encounters, including a 70-54 victory in last season's SEC Conference Tournament Championship Game.
Florida won its seventh game in a row on Saturday as it picked up a 73-65 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores to improve to 19-4 overall. Head coach Billy Donovan saw his team play well on both ends of the floor in the victory over Vandy, as it knocked down 11-of-24 from three-point range and forced 17 turnovers to push past the Commodores. The Gators have found success on the offensive end by valuing the possession, as they are leading the SEC in assists (16.3) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5). Florida is averaging 80.1 ppg on the offensive end, which is ninth best in the nation.
Kenny Boynton is the go-to-guy for the Gators this season. The junior guard leads the team with 17.6 ppg and is a big time threat from beyond the arc with an average of 3.3 makes from three-point range per contest. Boynton has been excellent lately, as he has averaged 21 points per game while going 7-of-15 from long range in his past two games. Bradley Beal is second on the team in both scoring (14.3) and rebounding (6.1). Erving Walker is leading the SEC in assists (5.1) while Patric Young is pulling down a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game. Erik Murphy gets into the mix on the offensive end on a consistent basis as well.
Despite their impressive resume and roster, the Gators are facing one of the few teams in the nation they will be slated as underdogs against. Kentucky is ranked number one in the nation, reeling off 15-straight victories to arrive at a 23-1 overall record. This past weekend, Kentucky made light work of South Carolina, 86-52. Kentucky owns the nation's longest homecourt winning streak at 48 games. The Wildcats cruised to an 86-52 victory at South Carolina their last time out as they shot over 50 percent from the floor for the second straight game. Kentucky's just behind the Gators with a scoring average of 78.1 ppg.
UK's success is impressive considering its starting lineup consists of three freshmen and two sophomores. Anthony Davis has been a huge contributor to the Wildcats' success. The freshman center is leading the team in scoring (13.9), rebounding (10.1), and already set the school's single season blocks record with 116, which also leads the nation. The 6-10 youngster was once again unstoppable in the win over South Carolina, finishing with 22 points, eight rebounds and eight blocked shots. While Davis claims ownership of the paint, Terrance Jones, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Doron Lamb and Marquis Teague thrive around him. Lamb was excellent in the recent win, as he went 6-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from three-point range on his way to 18 points.
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Teams that should be in: Stanford
Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds | |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do: Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney. Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson. Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable. Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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