Florida Gators vs Kentucky Wildcats Prediction, 1/4/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Florida Gators vs Kentucky Wildcats

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2025

Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY

TV: ESPN+

Rupp Arena is where the Kentucky Wildcats (11-2) will take on the Florida Gators (13-0) on Saturday.

The Florida Gators faced Stetson and went home with a win by a final score of 85-45 in their last contest. Florida finished the game with a 50.7% field goal percentage (35 out of 69) and knocked down 9 of 25 three-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Gators buried 6 of 9 shots for a rate of 66.7%. In relation to getting rebounds, they earned 47 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 19 dimes in this matchup while forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and earning 12 steals. In terms of the defense, Florida let their opponent shoot 26.5% from the floor on 18 out of 68 shooting. Stetson earned 6 dimes and had 6 steals in this game. In addition, Stetson grabbed 32 rebounds (10 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't have a block. Stetson ended up shooting 75.0% from the charity stripe by converting 6 of 8 shots. They also converted 3 of their 24 shots from beyond the arc. In relation to fouls, the Gators ended up with 13 while Stetson accumulated 8 fouls.

Alijah Martin is one player who was a contributor in this contest. He finished the game shooting 50.0% from the field and dished out 2 assists. He was on the hardwood for 22 minutes played and snagged 3 rebounds. He ended up with 18 points on 8 out of 16 shooting.

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Florida will play this contest with a mark of 13-0 this season. They currently have an average of 87.4 pts per contest (8th in college hoops) while connecting on 47.3% from the field. The Gators are shooting 34.4% on three-point shots (126 of 366) and 73.4% from the charity stripe. As a team, Florida is pulling in 45.7 boards per game and has earned 210 dimes for the campaign, which ranks 114th in D-1 in terms of passing. They cough up possession 11.1 times per contest and as a group they commit 15.8 fouls every game.

Defensively, the Gators have forced 13.8 turnovers per game and they draw 16.9 personal fouls. They are surrendering 26.6% on 3-pointers and they are 24th in the nation in PPG allowed (63.5). The Gators defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 36.9% (298 of 808) and they concede 32.9 rebounds per contest as a team. They currently rank 14th in college in giving up assists to the opposition with 121 surrendered on the season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Kentucky Wildcats walked away with a victory by a final of 88-54 against Brown. The Wildcats were able to snag 18 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 27 in the game. They coughed it up 5 times, while getting 14 steals in this contest. Brown had 17 fouls in this contest which got the Wildcats to the free throw line for 23 shots. They were able to bury 18 of the free throw tries for a clip of 78.3%. With respect to 3-pointers, Kentucky made 10 of 28 attempts (35.7%). When the game finished, the Wildcats finished shooting 30 out of 60 from the floor which had them shooting 50.0%. The Wildcats permitted Brown to make 20 of their 49 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 40.8% in this game. They shot 23.8% from beyond the arc by going 5 out of 21 and finished the game at 9 of 12 from the charity stripe (75.0%). Regarding cleaning the glass, Kentucky allowed Brown to grab 30 in total (7 on the offensive side).

Andrew Carr was important for the Wildcats for the contest. He converted 4 out of 6 in this game for a field goal rate of 66.7%, and had 5 rebounds. He racked up 14 points in his 21 minutes on the court and had 2 dimes for the game.

Kentucky has a mark of 11-2 this year. The Wildcats have committed 16.2 fouls every game and they hit 74.1% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 18.7 times per contest (11th in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 9.4 times per game. Kentucky has tallied 1,157 pts so far this year (89.0 per game) and they grab 42.3 boards per contest. As an offensive team, the Wildcats are shooting 48.2% from the floor, which ranks them 60th in the nation.

The Wildcats on the defensive side of the court are 189th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 71.3. They are able to force 11.1 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.5% from the field (71st in college). The Kentucky defense gives up 27.4% on shots from beyond the arc (93 of 340) and their opposition makes 70.4% of their foul shots. They have allowed 11.8 dimes and 36.1 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 96th and 272nd in those categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Florida

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