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Florida Gators is favorite on the NCAAB Odds as they host Jacksonville: 2024 NCAAB Expert Analysis

Florida Gators is favorite on the NCAAB Odds as they host Jacksonville: 2024 NCAAB Expert Analysis

Written by on November 7, 2024

Featured Sports Betting Odds, NCAA Basketball Betting News

The only ranked team in action around college basketball on Thursday is No. 21 Florida of the SEC as the Gators host in-state Jacksonville of the Atlantic Sun Conference

Which rarely gets to face a Big Brother in-state rival. UF is a double-digit favorite on the NCAAB odds in the Week 1.

Opening NCAAB Lines Subject to Change: Florida -19.5 (total 152)
Expert Prediction: Florida 82, Jacksonville 62
 

Why Bet on Jacksonville Basketball?

Jacksonville is an Atlantic Sun school that finished 16-17 last season. Robert McCray V was named third-team All-ASUN and then named the Preseason Player of the Year for this season. The transfer from Wake Forest led JU in scoring with 18.4 points per game while adding 4.2 boards and 2.9 assists per game. McCray’s 589 total points scored was the highest mark by a Dolphin since the 2015-16 season.

Robert McCray V

In the ASUN Tournament semifinals against eventual league winner Stetson, McCray dropped a career-high 36 points. In total, McCray’s 97 tournament points set a new league record. On the defensive end, McCray also made a strong impact, finishing seventh in the ASUN in steals during conference play with 18 for an average of 1.2 per contest.

Jacksonville was picked fifth in the ASUN in the Preseason Coaches Poll for 2024-25 and eighth in the Preseason Media Poll but did get three first-place votes. The team opened Monday with a 78-65 win over lower-level school Trinity Baptist College.

Stephone Payne II

The Dolphins (1-0) had two players score in double figures, led by Stephone Payne II who collected his sixth career double-double with 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for the junior. “I feel like my defense and offense can grow, but with more minutes, I will grow more,” Payne said. “I feel like my growth will come with the more minutes I play.”

Zach Bell

Bell added 11 points for the home squad and Simon Wheeler put up five points, a game-high seven assists and a game-high five steals. Freshman Enrico Borio added eight points and four rebounds. McCray had a rough debut with just nine points. One area of concern for the Dolphins moving forward might be shooting. They only connected on 6-of-32 shots from three in the game, going 0-13 in the first half but coach Jordan Mincy pointed to first-game jitters.

Trinity Baptist

Jacksonville outrebounded Baptist 51-34 and the JU defense was effective at taking away the basketball in Monday’s game, forcing 18 Trinity Baptist turnovers while committing 12 itself. Those takeaways turned into 19 points for the Dolphins. Wheeler’s five steals led the way for the Dolphins. JU’s emphasis on aggressive defense could be a key factor as it tries to match the Gators’ fast-paced offense.

This is the only scheduled meeting this year vs. a ranked opponent for Jacksonville, although it will play another SEC school in Georgia on Nov. 30. Last year, the Dolphins also played one ranked team and lost 100-57 at No. 1 Purdue.

Jacksonville head coach Jordan Mincy spent six seasons on Florida’s coaching staff from 2015-21. Mincy helped lead four NCAA Tournament teams while with the Gators (2017, ’18, ’19, ’21).

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Jacksonville at Florida Odds provided by MyBookie

 

Why Bet on Florida Basketball?

No. 21 Florida (1-0) opened with a 98-83 win over a solid South Florida team in Jacksonville on Monday. USF led at the half thanks to shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from 3-point range. The USF defense held UF to 17.6 percent from 3-point range. However, the Gators shot 29 free throws in the second half and made 23. For the game, UF attempted 33 free throws compared to the 17 by USF. The game was played just 11 days after Bulls coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, 43, died during a surgical procedure, shocking the Tampa and USF communities.

The Guards

Florida senior guards Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard combined for 54 points, including 33 after halftime. Clayton, a preseason All-SEC first-team selection and All-America candidate, finished with 29 on 10-for-15 shooting, and was perfect in seven attempts at the free-throw line over 34 minutes. Richard, who along with Clayton make up the two returning starters from last year’s 24-win NCAA Tournament team, poured in a career-high 25 and grabbed four rebounds in his 36 minutes.

It marked the first time since Jan. 22, 2019, vs. Texas A&M that two Gators went for 25+ points in a game (KeVaughn Allen 31, Noah Locke 27).

Todd Golden

“We felt incredibly fortunate to be able to get them back in our program,” UF coach Golden said. “They’re really, really loyal guys and we felt like they were players we could build around after last season.” It marked UF’s ninth all-time win under Golden when trailing by double digits at any point.

Alijah Martin

Transfer guard Martin did not shoot the ball well in his UF debut, but he finished with 13 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists. Sophomore forward Alex Condon added 13 points and five boards. With starting center Micah Handlogten slated to take a redshirt year due to a leg injury, Condon will play a much bigger role this year.

Though they connected on just five of 25 attempts (20 percent) from the arc, the Gators were a torrid 28 of 38 from the 2-point area (73.7 percent) for the game, including 15-for-21 after the break (71.4 percent).

“I thought we were settling [in the first half]. We weren’t putting pressure on the rim or pressure on the refs to make any calls,” Golden said. “We started [the second] with finishes and over the course of the half we just wore them down a little bit, getting them out of position defensively, finishing through their bodies and getting to the rim.”

This will be UF’s home opener and it has won 33 of those in a row with the last loss coming to Texas on Nov. 27, 1990.

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How to Bet Jacksonville at Florida Odds NCAA Basketball

When: Thursday, 8 PM ET
Where: Stephen C. O’Connell Center, Gainesville
TV: SEC Network
Stream: ESPN+

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Jacksonville vs Florida Series History

Florida leads the all-time series 32-5 and 16-2 at home. The Gators have won four straight in the series with JU, but the teams have not met since Dec. 22, 2015, which was during Jordan Mincy’s first season on the Florida coaching staff. Mincy is now the head coach at Jacksonville.

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2017 Jacksonville State vs Louisville
  The 15th-seeded Jacksonville State Gamecocks are excited to be in the 2017 NCAA Tournament and they’d like nothing better than to pull off the huge upset over the second-seeded Louisville Cardinals. Doing so looks like it will be a lot more difficult than actually pulling off the potential stunner. Now, let’s find out more about the updated NCAA basketball lines and see if the Gamecocks can get the upset!

In Depth Analysis On The Gamecocks Vs Cardinals Odds, Betting Pick & TV Info

When: Friday, March 17, 2017 at 2:45 PM ET Where: Banker’s Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana TV: CBS Live Stream: CBS Sports Network NCAAB Odds: Louisville -20 / Over/Under 134  

Why Bet The Jacksonville State Gamecocks Odds at +20

The 15th-seeded Gamecocks (17-12 ATS) have won four straight and won the Ohio Valley Conference crown by recording consecutive upsets including their 66-55 win over Tennessee-Martin in the championship showdown on March 4 as a 2.5-point favorite. Jacksonville State averages a modest 69.7 points per game (259th) on 45.7 percent shooting from the field (102nd) and 37.2 percent from three-point distance (75th). The Wolverines limit the opposition to just 67.6 points per game (63rd) on 41.5 percent shooting from the field (60th) and 37.5 percent from three-point distance (304th). The Gamecocks have four double-digit scorers on their roster and are led by junior guard Malcolm Drumwright (12.6 ppg), the MVP of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament after averaging 16.3 points while shooting 51.4 percent.

Why Bet The Louisville Cardinals Odds at -20

A year after a self-imposed postseason ban, Louisville (17-12 ATS) is back in the big dance, but the Cardinals have struggled in dropping three of their last five games including their 81-77 loss against Duke in the ACC Conference tournament semifinals. Louisville averages a respectable 77.5 points per game (80th) on 45.6 percent shooting from the field (110th) and 35.9 percent from three-point distance (138th). The Cardinals do have an elite defense that limits the opposition to just 65.8 points per game (41st) on 39.6 percent shooting from the field (13th) and 30.9 percent from three-point distance (17th). The Cardinals have just three double-digit scorers in their roster and get a team-high 15.7 points per game from sophomore guard Donovan Mitchell.

Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

Louisville pounded the hell out of Jacksonville State 88-39 when they met in 2014 and I believe another emphatic spanking is in store for the Gamecocks when they meet again. I know Jacksonville State has gone 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall and 6-0 ATS in their last 6 neutral site games, but Louisville has posted a perfect 5-0 ATS mark in their last five non-conference games while going 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite of 13.0 points or more and 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up loss. With the Cardinals also going 29-14 ATS in their last 43 neutral site games, I say keep it simple and back Rick Pitino’s squad to win big and cover.

My final score prediction is Louisville 81 Jacksonville State 60

 
 
   
 

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