South Carolina vs. Florida Prediction
Which SEC team has edge in the East Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament when No. 4 Florida faces No. 7 South Carolina today at 2:20PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, Florida is favored in today’s contest, as the Gators are getting odds of -3 points against the Gamecocks. The over/under total for the game is listed at 134.5 points. These two split the season series, with the home team winning and covering in both meetings. Today’s game is the East Regional Final and takes place from Madison Square Garden in New York and will air on CBS.
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Florida is coming off a very emotional, 84-83 OT win over Wisconsin on Friday night in which the Gators won when Chris Chiozza hit a one-footed 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Gators are now 27-8 overall and 19-13-1 against the spread. Florida is 2-0-1 ATS in this tournament. Florida comes in averaging 78.1 points per game on offense while allowing 66.2 on defense. KeVaughn Allen is leading the team with 14.1 points per game while Canyon Barry is adding 11.6 points per contest.
South Carolina had another impressive win on Friday, beating Baylor 70-50 to advance to today’s regional final. The Gamecocks have won their three NCAA Tournament games over Marquette, Duke and Baylor by an average of 16 points. SC is now 25-10 overall and 14-16-2 against the spread after covering in all three March Madness games. South Carolina averages 72.6 points per game on offense while allowing 64.9 on defense. Sindarius Thornwell has been the team leader with 21.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while PJ Dozier adds 13.7 points per contest.
These two split the season series, but I think South Carolina isn’t the same team it was when the two met back on Feb. 21. They have really been impressive on both sides of the ball and playing with a lot of confidence and little pressure. South Carolina also had an easy time in Friday’s game, the first of the two games in New York. Florida had to follow that with a grueling OT win over Wisconsin that didn’t get over until after midnight. That’s a quick turnaround for the Gators, who should come in less than 100 percent. That won’t work out well against a hot team.
MARCH MADNESS PREDICTION: SOUTH CAROLINA +3