Florida Gators vs Kentucky Wildcats Prediction, 1/31/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Florida Gators vs Kentucky Wildcats

Date: Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY

TV: ESPN

The Florida Gators (14-6) are hitting the road to Rupp Arena on Wednesday where they will take on the Kentucky Wildcats (15-4).

The Florida Gators played Georgia and earned the victory with a final of 102-98 in their last contest. Florida walked away from the contest with a 54.9% field goal percentage (39 of 71) and converted 7 of 20 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the free throw line, the Gators converted 17 of 20 tries for a rate of 85.0%. In regard to grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 46 with 15 of them being offensive. They also distributed 21 dimes in this matchup while creating 8 turnovers and having 7 steals. With regard to the defense, Florida allowed 52.0% from the field on 39 of 75 shooting. Georgia earned 18 assists and had 10 steals in the game. In addition, Georgia collected 25 rebounds (8 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Georgia ended up shooting 52.9% from the charity stripe by knocking down 9 of their 17 shots. They also knocked down 11 of 26 shots from three-point range. In reference to personal fouls, the Gators ended up finishing with 16 while Georgia had 19 personal fouls.

Micah Handlogten is a player who came through for this game. He accumulated 23 points on 10 out of 13 shooting. He played for 35 mins and also snagged 17 boards. He ended up going 76.9% from the field but wasn't able to get a dime.

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Florida will take the court with a record of 14-6 for the campaign. They average 85.4 points per game (8th in D-1) while connecting on 45.9% from the field. The Gators are shooting 33.1% on shots from 3-point land (151 of 456) and 68.5% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Florida is collecting 44.7 boards per contest and has accumulated 307 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 87th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 12.9 times per contest and as a team they are committing 17.2 fouls per contest.

On defense, the Gators are forcing 11.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.3 fouls. They are giving up 33.0% on 3-point attempts and they rank 307th in college basketball in opponents points per game (76.8). The Gators are giving up a shooting percentage of 43.1% (558 of 1,295) and they surrender 34.7 rebounds per game as a group. They are ranked 80th in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 234 conceded this season.

In their last game, the Kentucky Wildcats got the victory with a final of 63-57 when they faced Arkansas. The Wildcats pulled down 29 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 36 in this contest. They also coughed it up 9 times, while getting 8 steals in this matchup. Arkansas was called for 15 fouls for the contest which got the Wildcats to the charity stripe for a total of 12 attempts. They were able to bury 8 of them for a percentage of 66.7%. In the matter of shots from beyond the perimeter, Kentucky made 9 out of their 20 attempts (45.0%). At the conclusion of this game, the Wildcats shot 23 out of 63 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 36.5%. The Wildcats allowed Arkansas to convert 20 of 60 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 33.3% for the matchup. They shot 21.1% from distance by going 4 out of 19 and walked away from this one shooting 13 of 18 from the charity stripe (72.2%). Regarding rebounding, Kentucky permitted Arkansas to snag 38 in total (6 on the offensive side).

Antonio Reeves ended up being a factor for the Wildcats in this matchup. He knocked down 9 of 20 in this contest for a rate of 45.0%, and had 4 rebounds. He racked up 24 points in his 37 minutes of playing time and had 1 assist for this contest.

Kentucky has a record of 15-4 for the year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Wildcats are shooting 49.1% from the floor, which is 17th in the country. Kentucky has tallied 1,682 points on the season (88.5 per game) and they snag 38.1 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 18.0 times per game (13th in college basketball) and they cough up possession 9.9 times per game. The Wildcats are responsible for committing 16.1 personal fouls every game while shooting 74.9% from the charity stripe.

The Wildcats on defense are ranked 297th in college basketball in PPG allowed with 76.3. They have forced 12.8 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.0% from the field (104th in Division 1). The Kentucky defense surrenders 31.6% on shots from 3-point land (161 of 509) and their opponents are making 69.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 14.4 dimes and 37.1 boards per game, which is 304th and 288th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kentucky

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