Texas Longhorns vs Florida Gators Prediction, 1/18/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Texas Longhorns vs Florida Gators

Date: Saturday, January 18, 2025

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

TV: ESPN+

The Florida Gators (15-2) host the Texas Longhorns (12-5) at Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Saturday.

The Texas Longhorns took the court against Oklahoma and notched a win by a score of 77-73 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Longhorns finished with 19 and Oklahoma totaled 17 fouls. They buried 5 of their 16 tries from distance. Oklahoma finished 69.2% from the free throw line by converting 18 of 26 tries. On top of that, Oklahoma snagged 29 rebounds (6 offensive, 23 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Oklahoma distributed 8 dimes and had 10 steals in this game. Pertaining to defending, Texas let their opponent shoot 51.0% from the field on 25 out of 49 shooting. They also dished out 8 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing 18 turnovers and having 12 steals. When talking about grabbing boards, they collected 25 with 4 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Longhorns converted 14 of 18 shots for a percentage of 77.8%. Texas finished the contest having earned a 48.3% FG percentage (28 out of 58) and converted 7 out of their 22 3-point shots.

Jordan Pope is one player who was important in the game. He left the arena with 27 points on 9 out of 17 shooting. He played for 36 mins played and also collected 2 boards. He finished the contest at 52.9% from the floor but finished the game without a dime.

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Texas will play this contest with a mark of 12-5 on the campaign. They are turning it over 9.4 times per game and as a team they are committing 16.8 fouls per game. As a team, Texas is collecting 35.5 boards per game and is sitting with 236 assists so far this year, which ranks 194th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Longhorns are shooting 38.8% on three-point attempts (139 of 358) and 74.1% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 81.6 pts per contest (46th in D-1) while shooting 49.7% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Longhorns are forcing 12.8 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.1 personal fouls. They are 67th in the country in allowing assists to their opponents with 196 relinquished on the season. The Longhorns are giving up a field goal percentage of 41.0% (400 of 975) and they surrender 32.8 rebounds per game as a squad. They are giving up 32.0% from beyond the arc while they are 45th in college in PPG allowed (65.9).

When they last stepped on the court, the Florida Gators took a defeat with a final score of 83-82 against Missouri. The Gators were able to snag 24 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards totaling 35 for this game. They also coughed up the ball 13 times, while getting 5 steals in this contest. Missouri committed 24 personal fouls for this game which got the Gators to the free throw line for a total of 31 tries. They were able to knock down 21 of them for a rate of 67.7%. In regard to shots from distance, Florida knocked down 9 of their 25 tries (36.0%). Overall, the Gators shot 26 for 54 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 48.1%. The Gators permitted Missouri to bury 27 out of their 61 tries from the floor which had them shooting 44.3% in this matchup. They went 37.9% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 11 of 29 and finished the game at 18 out of 29 from the free throw line (62.1%). Regarding rebounding, Florida permitted Missouri to grab 33 in total (13 on the offensive side).

Walter Clayton Jr. was important for the Gators in this matchup. He made 9 out of 19 in the game for a field goal rate of 47.4%, and totaled 5 rebounds. He scored 28 points in his 35 minutes on the court, but wasn't able to notch an assist.

Florida has a mark of 15-2 so far this season. As an offensive unit, the Gators are shooting 46.8% from the floor, which is 90th in D-1. Florida has accumulated 1,462 pts for the year (86.0 per game) and they collect 45.5 boards per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.4 times per game (97th in college) and they cough up possession 11.1 times per contest. The Gators are committing 17.1 fouls per game and they connect on 71.6% from the free throw line.

The Gators on defense are ranked 45th in college in PPG surrendered with 65.9. They are able to force 12.5 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 37.4% from the field (8th in college hoops). The Florida defense gives up 27.8% on shots from distance (110 of 396) and their opponents are knocking down 70.4% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 10.4 assists and 33.5 rebounds per contest, which is 28th and 137th in the country.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Texas

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