Florida Gators vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, 3/20/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Florida Gators vs Xavier Musketeers

Date: Sunday, March 20, 2022

Location: Cintas Center in Cincinnati, OH

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Florida (+3)

The Florida Gators (20-13) are hitting the road to Cintas Center on Sunday where they will attempt to beat the Xavier Musketeers (19-13). Florida opens as 3-point dogs from oddsmakers. The over/under is set at 144.

The Florida Gators took the court against Iona and took home the win by a score of 79-74 in their last game. Florida ended the game having earned a 46.9% field goal percentage (30 out of 64) and converted 7 of their 24 shots from downtown. At the charity stripe, the Gators knocked down 12 of 16 attempts for a rate of 75.0%. In terms of getting rebounds, they earned 34 with 13 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 13 assists in this contest while forcing 16 turnovers and getting 11 steals. In reference to defending, Florida allowed the other team to shoot 46.0% from the floor on 29 of 63 shooting. Iona doled out 16 assists and had 9 steals for the matchup. Furthermore, Iona collected 32 rebounds (11 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Iona went 55.6% at the charity stripe by burying 10 of their 18 tries. They knocked down 6 of 20 attempts from beyond the perimeter. In the matter of personal fouls, the Gators finished with 12 while Iona had 20 personal fouls.

Colin Castleton is someone who played a role for the game. He ended up walking away with 18 points on 8 out of 14 shooting. He saw the court for 33 minutes and pulled down 13 boards. He ended up shooting 57.1% from the floor but had no assists when the game ended.

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Florida will enter this game with a mark of 20-13 for the year. They are averaging 71.0 points per game (173rd in the nation) while hitting 42.9% from the floor. The Gators are shooting 30.7% on three-point attempts (263 of 857) and 73.6% from the free throw line. As a team, Florida is pulling down 33.7 rebounds per game and has earned 424 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 145th in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.3 times per game and as a team are committing 15.9 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Gators are forcing 14.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.8 fouls. They currently rank 156th in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 390 surrendered this season. The Gators are giving up a field goal percentage of 44.0% (805 of 1,831) and they concede 34.7 boards per contest as a team. They are giving up 32.7% on three-point shots and they are ranked 92nd in college basketball in PPG allowed (66.3).

For their last game, the Xavier Musketeers got the victory with a final of 72-68 when they played Cleveland State. When talking about team rebounding, Xavier allowed Cleveland State to pull down 40 in total (12 offensive). They shot 8.3% from beyond the perimeter by going 1 out of 12 and walked away from this one shooting 13 out of 19 from the charity stripe (68.4%). The Musketeers permitted Cleveland State to convert 27 of 60 tries from the floor which had them shooting 45.0% for this game. When the final whistle was blown, the Musketeers went 24 out of 62 from the floor which had them shooting 38.7%. When talking about three-point shots, Xavier buried 7 of 26 tries (26.9%). They were able to make 17 of the free throws for a percentage of 73.9%. Cleveland State was called for 23 personal fouls for the contest which took the Musketeers to the charity stripe for 23 tries. They also coughed it up 12 times, while recording 16 steals in this game. The Musketeers recorded 24 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards for a total of 35 in this game.

Zach Freemantle ended up being a major contributor for the Musketeers for the contest. He made 4 of 11 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 36.4%, and had 11 rebounds. He earned 13 points in his 31 mins on the court, but left the arena with no assists.

Xavier has a mark of 19-13 this season. On the offensive side of the ball, the Musketeers are shooting 44.4% from the floor, which ranks 150th in the nation. Xavier has scored 2,364 points on the year (73.9 per game) and they collect 37.3 rebounds per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.6 times per game (73rd in the nation) and they are giving up possession 11.6 times per game. The Musketeers are committing 15.5 fouls every game and they shoot 70.2% from the free throw line.

The Xavier defense concedes 32.3% from downtown (225 of 696) and their opponents are converting on 74.2% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 12.3 assists and 34.7 rebounds per contest, which has them ranked 156th and 181st in those categories. The Musketeers on defense are ranked 185th in college basketball in points allowed per game with 69.2. They have forced 12.9 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.5% from the field (139th in D-1).

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Xavier (-3) and under 144 points

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