The No. 6 Florida Gators are riding a nine-game win streak that includes victories over the then-No.13 Kansas Jayhawks and then-No.15 Memphis Tigers. Florida is still undefeated in SEC Conference play and has relied on an excellent defense to earn its 15-2 record on the season. The Gators have held their SEC opponents to an average of 62 points per game, but they will play two of their next three matchups on the road.

The Alabama Crimson Tide started out SEC play with a 2-2 record and were held to 47 points during their last matchup on Saturday. The squad will host three of its next four games and hope to put together a more cohesive effort on both sides of the ball. Alabama is a horrendous 5-9 ATS but will look to change that mark during its game against the Gators. Let’s take a closer look at Thursday’s SEC matchup with predictions and analysis.

Florida at Alabama Betting Story Lines

Florida is in the middle of another excellent season, but the squad has been mediocre at best against the spread. The team is 6-6-1 ATS and has failed to cover three of its last five matchups. The Gators are winning games but simply not covering the large double-digit spread that they have faced all season. The No. 6 school in the nation averages only 72.4 points per game (167th), which leaves them very little wiggle room when it comes to spreads.

Florida has five double-digit scorers and is being led by the 17.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists of senior Casey Prather. The squad, however, receives little to no production from four players on its roster and relies on its starters to do most of the heavy lifting. Overall, the Gators are an excellent shooting team but struggle to grab rebounds. The team is coming off a close victory over Auburn on Saturday but was able to survive behind a 21-point and six-rebound performance from Prather.

Alabama averages 70 points per game but has only two double-digit scorers. Trevor Releford leads the team with 18.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, while sophomore Retin Obasohan adds 12.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest. Overall, Alabama is ranked in the 200s in just about every category of importance and is 223rd in scoring and 239th in rebounds.

The Crimson Tide are coming off an embarrassing 21-point loss to the Missouri Tigers over the weekend and were blown out of the game during the second half. The team shot a horrendous 29.2 percent from the field and managed to make only 14 shots during the entire night. The team also missed 15 3-point attempts and shot 63 percent from the free throw line.
 
Florida at Alabama NCAA Betting Odds and Key Trends

Florida opened as a 4.5-point favorite over the underdog Crimson Tide at BetOnline. Florida is 4-0 ATS during its last four Thursday games and 7-1 ATS over its last eight matchups against teams with a losing SU record. The team, however, is only 2-6 ATS over its last eight road games and 5-11 ATS over its last 17 games following a SU win.

Alabama is 2-6 ATS over its recent games against teams with a winning percentage better than .600 and 2-8 ATS over its last 10 games against teams with a winning SU record. The squad is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 overall matchups and 0-4 ATS after scoring less than 50 points in its previous game. Head-to-head, Florida is 5-1 ATS over the last six meetings in Alabama.

Free College Basketball Picks: Florida at Alabama Predictions

Neither squad in Thursday’s matchup is a very good ATS team, but the major difference between the two schools is that at least Florida is a good team overall, whereas Alabama has struggled to reach .500. Florida has won six of its last seven games by more than five points—which would cover the spread for this matchup—while the Crimson Tide’s last three losses have been by eight point or more. Take the No. 6 Gators minus the points.

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