LSU Tigers vs Florida Gators Prediction, 1/2/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: LSU Tigers vs Florida Gators

Date: Saturday, January 2, 2021

Location: Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, FL

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: LSU (+2.5)

The LSU Tigers (6-1) are headed to Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Saturday where they'll take on the Florida Gators (4-1). The line on this contest has Florida as 2.5-point favorites. The over/under opens at 153.

LSU will take the court with a win-loss record of 6-1 on the campaign. They currently have an average of 86.9 pts per contest (18th in D-1) while connecting on 51.2% from the floor. The Tigers are hitting 36.6% on shots from beyond the arc (63 of 172) and 78.2% from the free throw line. As a team, LSU is snagging 39.1 rebounds per game and has accounted for 100 dimes for the campaign, which has them ranked 168th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 12.4 times per contest and as a group they commit 17.0 personal fouls every game. On the defensive end of the court, the Tigers are forcing their opponents into 14.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.9 fouls. They are currently ranked 181st in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 95 relinquished for the campaign. The Tigers are allowing a field goal percentage of 39.4% (168 of 426) and they surrender 32.4 boards per game as a basketball team. They are giving up 26.7% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 101st in the country in points per game allowed (66.3).

The LSU Tigers played the Texas A&M Aggies and walked away with a win by a score of 77-54 in their last game. LSU ended having earned a 46.9% FG percentage (30 of 64) and converted 9 of their 27 shots from 3-point land. From the free throw line, the Tigers converted 8 of 9 attempts for a rate of 88.9%. With regard to rebounding, they collected 39 with 15 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 16 assists in this contest in addition to having 7 steals and 2 blocked shots. In regard to defense, LSU allowed their opponent to shoot 46.9% from the field on 30 of 64 shooting. Texas A&M doled out 13 dimes and had 4 steals for the matchup. In addition, the Aggies pulled down 31 rebounds (11 offensive, 20 defensive) and added 2 rejections. Texas A&M ended up going 53.8% from the charity stripe by knocking down 7 of their 13 tries. They also made 5 of 26 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

Cameron Thomas is one player who was a major contributor for this game. He ended up walking away with 32 points on 12 of 21 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 34 mins and snagged 3 boards. Thomas finished shooting 57.1% from the field and distributed 2 assists. Another guy that was a major contributor in this matchup for the Tigers was Darius Days. He grabbed 10 rebounds and also accumulated 2 dimes. He finished 53.8% from the field in this contest by going 7-of-13 (18 points). When the final whistle blew, Days saw the court for 25 minutes.

Florida has a win-loss record of 4-1 so far this year. Florida has totaled 414 points on the campaign (82.8 per contest) and they pull down 36.6 boards per game. The Gators are committing 23.2 fouls every game and they connect on 72.6% from the charity stripe. On the offensive side of the court, the Gators are shooting 50.7% from the field, which is ranked 42nd in D-1. They are dishing out assists 13.6 times per contest (181st in Division 1) and they lose possession via turnover 15.2 times per contest. The Gators on defense are ranked 115th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 66.8. They surrender 12.2 assists and 32.0 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 134th and 72nd in the country. The Florida defense allows 34.9% on 3-point shots (38 of 109) and their opposition knocks down 68.9% of their shots from the charity stripe. They are forcing their opponents into 18.2 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 39.0% from the field (50th in D-1).

When they last stepped on the court, the Florida Gators went home victorious with a score of 91-72 against the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Gators corralled 27 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 34 in the matchup. They also blocked 9 shots while getting 9 steals for this game. The Commodores earned 19 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Gators to the free throw line for 25 shots. They were able to knock down 16 of those for a rate of 64.0%. In regard to three-point attempts, Florida made 7 of their 17 attempts (41.2%). When the final whistle blew, the Gators walked away from this one shooting 34 out of 55 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 61.8%. The Gators allowed the Commodores to knock down 24 of 58 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 41.4% in this game. They finished shooting 36.4% from 3-point land by connecting on 8 out of 22 and finished the game at 16 of 20 from the charity stripe (80.0%). When discussing rebounding, Florida permitted Vanderbilt to collect 26 overall (8 on the offensive side).

Colin Castleton ended up having an impact for the Gators in this contest. He made 11 out of 13 for this game giving him a rate of 84.6%, which got him 23 points. Castleton had 5 boards in his 30 mins and earned 2 assists in this game. An additional guy that played a role for Florida was Scottie Lewis. He finished with 16 points in 32 minutes on the court via 5 out of 8 shooting in this game. Lewis walked away from this one going 62.5% from the floor while also earning 4 assists and 4 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take LSU (+2.5)

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