Kentucky Wildcats vs Florida Gators Prediction, 3/5/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kentucky Wildcats vs Florida Gators

Date: Saturday, March 5, 2022

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

TV: CBS

The Kentucky Wildcats (24-6) are hitting the road to Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Saturday where they will attempt to defeat the Florida Gators (19-11).

The Kentucky Wildcats faced off with Ole Miss and earned the victory with a final of 83-72 in their last game. Kentucky walked away from the game having earned a 60.0% field goal percentage (33 out of 55) and made 6 out of their 14 three-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Wildcats knocked down 11 of their 15 shots for a rate of 73.3%. Pertaining to rebounding, they earned 27 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 18 dimes for this contest as well as creating 8 turnovers and having 7 steals. Pertaining to the defense, Kentucky allowed the other team to shoot 50.0% from the floor on 29 out of 58 shooting. Ole Miss distributed 12 assists and had 5 steals in the game. In addition, Ole Miss pulled down 24 rebounds (8 offensive, 16 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Ole Miss went 70.0% when shooting free throws by making 7 of their 10 attempts. They knocked down 7 of their 18 shots from distance. When talking about fouls, the Wildcats ended up walking away with 11 while Ole Miss totaled 14 fouls.

Oscar Tshiebwe is a guy who was a major factor for the contest. He went 75.0% from the floor and distributed 1 assist. He saw the court for 34 minutes and totaled 15 boards. He totaled 18 points on 9 of 12 shooting.

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Kentucky heads into this matchup with a mark of 24-6 on the season. They currently have an average of 80.4 points per outing (10th in college basketball) while hitting 48.8% from the floor. The Wildcats are shooting 35.7% on three-point attempts (190 of 532) and 73.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, Kentucky is grabbing 40.5 boards per game and has racked up 489 dimes this season, which is 17th in college basketball in terms of passing. They turn it over 11.7 times per game and as a squad are committing 14.1 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Wildcats are forcing their opponents into 12.3 turnovers every game while drawing 15.6 fouls. They are 119th in Division 1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 343 relinquished so far this year. The Wildcats are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 41.0% (732 of 1,784) and they concede 30.0 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They give up 30.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 81st in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (65.8).

When they last stepped on the court, the Florida Gators walked away with a victory by a final of 82-78 when they faced Vanderbilt. The Gators were able to corral 18 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive boards totaling 23 in the game. They also turned it over 9 times, while getting 6 steals for this game. Vanderbilt had 18 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Gators to the charity stripe for a total of 14 attempts. They were able to bury 12 of them for a percentage of 85.7%. In reference to 3-point shots, Florida knocked down 10 of their 21 tries (47.6%). When the final whistle blew, the Gators finished the game shooting 30 out of 57 from the field which had them shooting 52.6%. The Gators allowed Vanderbilt to convert 30 out of 53 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 56.6% for the contest. They finished shooting 51.7% from three-point range by shooting 15 out of 29 and finished the contest at 3 out of 6 from the free throw line (50.0%). In regard to attacking the glass, Florida permitted Vanderbilt to pull down 28 in total (5 on the offensive glass).

Phlandrous Fleming pitched in for the Gators in the game. He converted 5 out of 10 in this game giving him a rate of 50.0%, and had 4 rebounds. He scored 16 points in his 33 minutes on the court and accounted for 6 assists for the matchup.

Florida has a win-loss mark of 19-11 on the campaign. The Gators have committed 15.8 fouls every game while shooting 73.7% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 12.9 times per game (185th in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 12.3 times per game. Florida has totaled 2,122 pts on the year (70.7 per game) and they collect 33.3 boards per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Gators are shooting 42.9% from the floor, which ranks them 249th in the country.

The Gators defensively are ranked 66th in D-1 in PPG given up with 65.4. They are forcing 14.6 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 43.6% from the floor (207th in college hoops). The Florida defense gives up 32.2% on shots from distance (177 of 549) and their opponents are converting on 70.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 11.4 dimes and 34.6 rebounds per contest, which is 85th and 187th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Florida

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