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A promising start to the season has recently gone awry for the Arkansas Razorbacks. They started the year 11-2 and looked like they might be one of the teams to beat in the SEC after knocking off Oklahoma and Minnesota in non-conference play.
However, this team has hit a wall recently. Arkansas has lost three of its last four and just barely squeaked by Missouri over the weekend. It’s not a good time for the Razorbacks to be taking on the Florida Gators in a road tilt.
This war on the floor will go down Wednesday, January 17, 2018, at 7 p.m. ET at Exactech Arena in Gainesville, Florida. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Wednesday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Arkansas won and covered five straight games before the start of conference play. However, since SEC action started, the Razorbacks have yet to cover a game. They are 0-5 ATS and 2-3 SU with the two wins coming by just two points. Additionally, they were favored in two of their outright losses.
Under has been a nice bet too. Arkansas’ last four games have gone under the total and the last two sailed under by more than 20 points.
Florida suffered its first loss in SEC play last weekend against Ole Miss. The Gators were five-point favorites against the Rebels, but just couldn’t get it done on the road in Oxford. They had covered three straight before that loss.
Like Arkansas, under has been a good bet in Florida games recently. Six of the team’s last nine games have finished short of the total.
Matchup to Watch
Although Florida relies on its guards to make plays, this team does not race up and down the court. The Gators are a middle of the pack team in terms of tempo and have looked uneasy playing a fast-paced game. That’s really peculiar considering this team lives and dies by the three and doesn’t have much of an interior game.
Arkansas is not afraid to get out there and run. The Razorbacks were the only team that beat the Sooners by playing their style of basketball and will keep up the pace for as long as they can. This is one of the top shooting teams in the country and they are hitting nearly 50 percent of their field goals. Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon are two very efficient scorers too.
Key Stat
Both of these teams have been having trouble on the defensive side of the court. For Arkansas, the main issue is pace. The Razorbacks allow a lot of points primarily because of the tempo they play, but are a middle of the pack defense nationally.
As for Florida, this team has struggled to put forth a consistent defensive effort throughout the season. The Gators are in the bottom half of the country in almost all major defensive categories. Of particular concern, teams have been able to hit a lot of threes against them. That should not be too much of a factor in a four-guard lineup.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
There is a vast disparity between these teams at the free throw line. Florida is one of the better free throw shooting teams out there. The Gators are 27th in the nation in free throw percentage and are sinking 76.4 percent of their shots as a whole. Meanwhile, Arkansas is hitting 10 percent fewer free throws than Florida. That’s one of the lowest-ranked teams in the country.
Before their recent run of play, I would have thought Arkansas would be able to give Florida all they could handle here. However, the Razorbacks have been exposed over the last two weeks, so I expect Florida to hold serve at home.
College Basketball Odds: Florida 78, Arkansas 71
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