Florida Gators vs Kentucky Wildcats Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 01/31/2024

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Venue:  Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Florida +6.5, Kentucky -6.5; Over/Under:  171.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Florida +6.5, Kentucky -6.5; Over/Under:  171.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Florida +6.5, Kentucky -6.5; Over/Under:  171.5 points

Florida Gators:  14-6 (4-3) (7th place, SEC)

Kentucky Wildcats:  15-4 (5-2) (5th place, SEC)

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Florida Gators:  4-1  last 5

Kentucky Wildcats:  3-2  last 5

Florida is entering this game with a 14-6 record overall, a 4-3 record in conference games, and they are 1-3 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a win against the Georgia Bulldogs in their last game. Micah Handlogten led the team in points per game in that game with 23 while Zyon Pullin was next on the team with 20. Zyon Pullin led the team in assists with 8 in that game while Micah Handlogten led the team in rebounds with 17. They were 54.9% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range, and 85% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 85.4 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 76.8 PPG against them. Florida has an ATS record of 8-11-1 this season and their O/U record is 12-7-1.

Kentucky is entering this game with a 15-4 record overall, a 5-2 conference record, and they are 10-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a win against the Arkansas Razorbacks in their last game. Antonio Reeves led the team in points in that game with 24 while Reed Sheppard was next on the team with 14. Reed Sheppard led the team in assists with 5 in that game while Tre Mitchell led the team in rebounds with 11. They were 36.5% from the field, 45% from 3-point range, and 66.7% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 88.5 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 76.3 PPG against them. Kentucky has an ATS record of 12-7 this season and their O/U record is 14-5.

The current betting odds have Kentucky listed as a 6.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Kentucky has looked really good in their games this season with their 15-4 record overall which has them ranked inside the top 25 teams in the country. They have looked good in the SEC with their 5-2 conference record and they have looked even better on their home court with their 10-1 home record. Meanwhile, Florida has also looked good in their games this season with their 14-6 record overall. They have also looked good in the SEC but they haven't looked great with their 4-3 conference record. They have also struggled a lot more in their road games this season with their 1-3 road record and they are not going to have an easy time on the road in this game with Kentucky being one of the best teams in the country right now. Kentucky is going to have some momentum here too as they beat Arkansas on the road in their last game and now they will be looking to use their home advantage to help them pull off another win and boost themselves up the standings in the SEC. Florida has looked good in their games this season but they have been a completely different team in road games this year and Kentucky still has a lot more talent on their side too. The best way to place a bet here is on Kentucky to cover the spread in this game. 

Florida Kentucky Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Wednesday, January 31, 2024 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Kentucky 78 Florida 66.

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Florida Gators: 8-15 ATS as an underdog. 4-9 ATS off a home win against a conference rival. 1-6 ATS after scoring 75 points or more in 3 straight games. 13-7 OVER in all games. 11-6 OVER as a road underdog of 6.5 to 9 points. 8-3 OVER off a home win scoring 85 or more points.

Kentucky Wildcats: 7-1 ATS when playing only their 2nd game in 8 days. 84-54 ATS after a win by 6 points or less. 9-4 ATS after 5 straight games committing 14 or less turnovers. 14-5 OVER in all games. 9-2 OVER as a home favorite or pick. 22-12 OVER after 1 or more consecutive unders. 

Florida Gators:  A. Szymczyk (F) Early Feb - Foot.

Kentucky Wildcats:  R. Dillingham (G) Ques Wed - Illness.

"A win's a win. The great thing is we can learn from it positively and not have a tough weekend thinking about a brutal loss. That's part of growing as a program." - Todd Golden after his team’s win against Georgia in their last game on Saturday.

“Offensively, when we move the ball, there are people open that we’re not finding, that, two weeks ago, we found. There were a couple spacing issues. So we talked about it, we showed them on tape … And they came out, and all of a sudden I just stopped them (in practice) and I said, ‘That’s how you play when you’re us.’ That’s the spacing. That’s who you’re looking for. You’ve got to see where people are.” - John Calipari on his team’s offensive issues as of late.

W. Clayton 

M. Handlogten 

Z. Pullin 

W. Richard 

T. Samuel

A. Bradshaw 

J. Edwards 

T. Mitchell 

A. Reeves 

D. Wagner

PPG: W. Clayton Jr (15.9)

APG: Z. Pullin (4.8)

Reb/G: T. Samuel (8.3)

PPG: A. Reeves (19.5)

APG: R. Sheppard (4.1)

Reb/G: T. Mitchell (7.7)

Coaches:

Florida Gators: Todd Golden (2nd season)

Kentucky Wildcats: John Calipari (15th season)