It will be a matchup between the nation’s top two scoring defenses when the Florida Gators (4-1) play against the FGCU Eagles (3-2). Action starts at 6:30 pm ET on Friday, Nov. 27 and can be seen on SEC and ES3.
The Gators easily got past Vermont 86-62 on Wednesday. Dorian Finney-Smith was the game’s high scorer with 20 points on 6-for-15 shooting. The Eagles are coming off an 82-77 loss to Bowling Green on Monday. Zach Johnson had a good shooting night, leading the game with 26 points.
Florida is a big 19-point favorite at home and the Over/Under (O/U) for this matchup is set at 143 points. The Gators enter the game with records of 4-1 Straight Up (SU) and 3-1 Against The Spread (ATS). Teams have to fight for open shots against the Gators, who have the best opponent field-goal percentage in the country at .379.
Over on the other bench, the Eagles have 3-2 SU and 1-2 ATS records. The Eagles rarely make costly errors handling the ball. They have the 37th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.50. Moving on to the FGCU defense, the Eagles have the best opponent field-goal percentage in the nation at .402.
Florida and FGCU will be facing off for their first head-to-head game in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – Fla, ATS Winner – FlaGC, O/U – Over
Notes
Florida is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home.
In its last game, Florida won by a margin of 24 points. FGCU is 1-0 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Florida has a 3-0 record in blowouts.
The Florida Gators have the nation’s top defense, with a defensive rating of 88.1. The FGCU Eagles have an offensive rating of 107.2 (ranked 160th).
The Florida Gators average a field goal percentage of 44.3% this season. The FGCU Eagles are a winless 0-2 when opponents have a FG% of 44.3% or greater.
The Florida Gators rank lower for their field goal percentage (166th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (152nd), but the FGCU Eagles have a better FG% ranking (135th) than eFG% ranking (167th).
FGCU ranks 66th in assists, recording 16.8 per game. Florida performs worse at 251st with 12.2 assists per game.
Florida ranks 34th in rebounds per game with 44.2 and FGCU ranks 61st with 42.4 rebounds per game.
FGCU ranks 114th in offensive rebounds, while Florida ranks at 97th in defensive rebounds.
Though FGCU is one of the best in the country in forcing turnovers with opponents averaging a TO% of 17.3% (ranked first), Florida is undefeated (2-0) when its TO% is 17.3% or greater.
