East Carolina Pirates vs Florida Gators Prediction, 12/14/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: East Carolina Pirates vs Florida Gators

Date: Thursday, December 14, 2023

Location: RP Funding Center in Lakeland, FL

TV: ESPN+

The Florida Gators (6-3) will play the East Carolina Pirates (6-4) at RP Funding Center on Thursday.

The East Carolina Pirates played South Carolina and ended up losing by a score of 68-62 in their last contest. East Carolina ended the game with a 39.6% field goal percentage (21 of 53) and converted 5 out of their 17 shots from 3-point land. From the charity stripe, the Pirates converted 15 of 23 shots for a percentage of 65.2%. Pertaining to getting rebounds, they earned 29 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 8 dimes in this matchup as well as creating 9 turnovers and having 6 steals. Pertaining to defense, East Carolina allowed 43.8% from the floor on 21 out of 48 shooting. South Carolina doled out 13 assists and had 2 steals in this matchup. Furthermore, South Carolina snagged 31 boards (5 offensive, 26 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. South Carolina shot 70.8% from the free throw line by knocking down 17 of their 24 shots. They also made 9 of 26 tries from beyond the arc. When talking about personal fouls, the Pirates ended up walking away with 18 while South Carolina accumulated 17 personal fouls.

RJ Felton is a guy who played a role in this game. He finished 46.2% from the floor but had no assists at the end of the game. He saw the court for 34 mins played and collected 7 boards. He accounted for 15 points on 6 of 13 shooting.

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East Carolina comes into this matchup with a record of 6-4 on the year. They are averaging 75.0 points per outing (177th in the nation) while hitting 44.3% from the field. The Pirates are connecting on 31.8% on 3-pointers (68 of 214) and 69.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, East Carolina is grabbing 36.6 boards per game and has tallied 127 assists this season, which is 221st in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 10.7 times per game and as a squad are committing 16.7 personal fouls every game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Pirates are forcing 12.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.9 fouls. They are giving up 32.2% from 3-point land and they rank 171st in Division 1 in points per game from their opponents (70.4). The Pirates are giving up a shooting percentage of 45.1% (248 of 550) and they concede 32.0 rebounds per game as a squad. They are 218th in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 127 relinquished for the year.

The last time they took the court, the Florida Gators took home the win by a final score of 87-76 when they played Richmond. In regard to how they attacked the glass, Florida permitted Richmond to pull down 29 overall (4 on the offensive side). They finished 50.0% from three-point range by shooting 11 of 22 and ended up shooting 11 out of 19 at the free throw line (57.9%). The Gators permitted Richmond to make 27 of 63 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 42.9% in this contest. At the conclusion of this game, the Gators shot 29 out of 65 from the field which gave them a percentage of 44.6%. Concerning 3-point shots, Florida made 9 out of their 29 attempts (31.0%). They were able to knock down 20 of the free throws for a rate of 80.0%. Richmond was called for 20 personal fouls for this contest which took the Gators to the charity stripe for a total of 25 shots. They coughed it up 12 times, while recording 4 steals in the matchup. The Gators corralled 35 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards totaling 48 in the game.

Will Richard ended up being a factor for the Gators in this matchup. He had 21 points in his 37 minutes on the court and accounted for 1 assist in the game. He knocked down 8 of 12 for the matchup for a rate of 66.7%, and tallied 7 rebounds.

Florida has a mark of 6-3 so far this season. The Gators commit 18.1 fouls per contest and they hit 66.9% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 15.8 times per game (68th in D-1) and they are giving up possession 13.2 times per game. Florida has totaled 753 points on the campaign (83.7 per game) and they average 43.8 boards per game. As an offensive team, the Gators are shooting 45.8% from the field, which is 136th in the nation.

The Florida defense surrenders 35.1% on shots from 3-point land (67 of 191) and opponents are knocking down 67.0% of their free throw shots. They give up 13.2 dimes and 33.2 total boards per game, which is ranked 244th and 105th in Division 1. The Gators on the defensive side of the court are 249th in college basketball in points given up per game with 73.7. They are able to force 12.1 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.2% from the field (160th in Division 1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take East Carolina

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