South Carolina Gamecocks vs Florida Gators Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 02/17/2026

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Venue:  Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, FL 

Where to Watch:  SEC Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  South Carolina +21.5, Florida -21.5; Over/Under:  149.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  South Carolina +21.5, Florida -21.5; Over/Under:  149.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  South Carolina +21.5, Florida -21.5; Over/Under:  149.5 points

South Carolina Gamecocks:  11-14 (2-10) (16th place, SEC)

Florida Gators:  19-6 (10-2) (1st place, SEC)

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South Carolina Gamecocks:  0-5  last 5

Florida Gators:  5-0  last 5

South Carolina is entering this game with an 11-14 record overall, a 2-10 record in conference games, and they are 1-6 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a loss against the Alabama Crimson Tide in their last game. Meechie Johnson Jr. led the team in points in that game with 26 while Kobe Knox was next on the team with 21. Kobe Knox led the team in assists with 6 in that game while Mike Sharavjamts led the team in rebounds with 8. They were 40.6% from the field, 25% from 3-point range, and 88.9% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 76.4 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 75.9 PPG against them. South Carolina has an ATS record of 11-14 this season and their O/U record is 12-11-2.

Florida is entering this game with a 19-6 record overall, a 10-2 conference record, and they are 11-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a win against the Kentucky Wildcats in their last game. Xaivian Lee led the team in points in that game with 22 while Urban Klavzar was next on the team with 19. Xaivian Lee led the team in assists with 3 in that game while Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon each led the team in rebounds with 11. They were 45.5% from the field, 35.7% from 3-point range, and 68.8% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 86.5 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 71.4 PPG against them. Florida has an ATS record of 12-13 this season and their O/U record is 9-15-1.

The current betting odds have Florida listed as a 21.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Florida has looked great in their games this season with their 19-6 record overall and their 10-2 conference record which has them right at the top of the SEC. They have looked great on their home court too with their 11-1 home record this season. Meanwhile, South Carolina has looked terrible in their games this season with their 11-14 record overall and their 2-10 conference record which has them right at the bottom of the SEC. They have been a terrible road team too with their 1-6 road record this year. The SEC hasn't been a strong conference this season and they have definitely taken a step back from where they were last season, but South Carolina has been the single worst team in the conference all year. They have looked terrible lately with 6 losses in a row now and they are off a loss to Alabama in their last one, losing another game by double digits which has become a common theme for them this season. Florida has been the complete opposite though, being the defending national champions and they have been rolling lately with a lot of wins by double digits. They had a slower start to the season and were struggling a bit with a tougher schedule, but they have looked a lot better since getting into conference play and they have looked like the clear best team in the SEC this year. They have a ton of momentum on their side too with 5 wins in a row now and they are off another big win in their last one, beating up on Kentucky by 9 points who hasn't been a bad team this year. Florida is starting to roll now and South Carolina just doesn't have the talent to compete with the best team in the SEC when they have already been struggling with the other teams around them at the bottom. The best way to place a bet here is on Florida to cover the spread in this game. 

South Carolina Florida Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Tuesday, February 17, 2026 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Florida 99 South Carolina 57.

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South Carolina Gamecocks: 8-4 ATS revenging a blowout loss vs opponent of 20 points or more. 7-2 ATS versus poor 3 point shooting teams - making 31% of their attempts or less. 8-4 UNDER revenging a blowout loss vs opponent of 20 points or more. 23-14 UNDER versus good rebounding teams - outrebounding opponents by 4+ per game.

Florida Gators: 3-6 ATS versus poor defensive teams - shooting pct defense of 45% or more. 4-9 ATS when playing against a team with a losing record. 6-3 UNDER versus poor defensive teams - shooting pct defense of 45% or more. 

South Carolina Gamecocks:  None.

Florida Gators:  None.

“Yeah, for sure, I thought I was really happy with that. And particularly because we got down. And when we got down there was one little stretch, wasn’t that long, but just looking at faces, they looked a little long. Guys wear their emotions on their sleeves. And so, as you’re trying to rally them back up, I thought we did a really good job of making a couple of plays, realizing where we were, and what are opportunities still were, and then we fought and made plays. We fought, got them to miss a couple of shots in the second half.” - Lamont Paris after his team’s loss against Alabama in their last game. 

"Yeah, you know, really good college basketball game. I thought we did a really good job first half, getting off to a great start. I thought we kind of lost our edge a little bit in the middle of the first half.” - Todd Golden after his team’s win against Kentucky in their last game. 

M. Johnson 

K. Knox 

M. Sharavjamts 

E. Strong 

M. Stute

R. Chinyelu 

A. Condon 

B. Fland 

T. Haugh 

X. Lee

PPG: Meechie Johnson (16.7)

APG: Meechie Johnson (4.2)

Reb/G: Mike Sharavjamts (5.5)

PPG: Thomas Haugh (17.5)

APG: Boogie Fland (3.7)

Reb/G: Rueben Chinyelu (11.8)

Coaches:

South Carolina Gamecocks: Lamont Paris (4th season)

Florida Gators: Todd Golden (4th season)