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Florida vs. Alabama prediction and odds for Wednesday, February 8 (Value on total)

By Reed Wallach

Feb 4, 2023; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Jahvon Quinerly (5) drives to the basket against LSU Tigers guard Cam Hayes (1) during the second half at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2023; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Jahvon Quinerly (5) drives to the basket against LSU Tigers guard Cam Hayes (1) during the second half at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports /
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Florida is trending up, but it needs to continue to make an impression on the NCAA Tournament selection committee in order to make the ‘Big Dance’ in March.

After defeating Tennessee at home, the team lost a close game at Kentucky. Florida stays on the road to face arguably the best team in the country in Alabama and are catching nearly double digits. The Crimson Tide are trying to position themselves as a No. 1 seed come the NCAA Tournament and this would be another impressive win if they take care of business.

Here’s the odds for this SEC showdown:

Florida vs. Alabama odds, spread and total

Florida vs. Alabama prediction and pick

This is a battle between two of the best defenses in the country, each inside the top 10 nationally in defensive efficiency according to KenPom. However, where the two teams differ is on offense as the Crimson Tide is an explosive unit that bolster an elite transition attack while Florida is a middle of the road defense that has struggled to find their perimeter shot all season. The Gators are shooting just 30% from the 3-point line in SEC play.

UF’s offense has held the team back from reaching its lofty goals under first year head coach Todd Golden, but the defense is elite around big man Colin Castleton, as the team does a fantastic job of forcing mid-range jumpers. Now, Alabama prefers to shoot only 3s or layups under analytic-savvy Nate Oats, but I’ll side with Florida’s elite defense making life difficult for the Crimson Tide.

On the other side, Florida has been particularly poor on offense on the road, scoring under 70 in all six conference away games.

The defense is going to keep this competitive against the up-tempo Crimson Tide, Florida has a top 50 transition defense this season, but ultimately this game is shaping up for a lower than expecting scoring affair. Give me the under in this SEC matchup.

Track all of Reed’s bets at Betstamp HERE!

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.