Florida basketball vs. Florida State: Prediction, pick, line, spread, odds, watch live stream online

Basketball

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Image Credit: Graphic by Michael Nash

Unranked entering the 2018-19 season, Florida Gators basketball looks to continue its progression under head coach Mike White, who enters his fourth year with a team now filled with his recruits. Coming off a Round of 32 exit in last year’s NCAA Tournament, the Gators were unable to live up to the Elite Eight level they reached the year prior, losing 13 games on the season, including seven in the SEC.

Florida begins this season with one of the toughest openers in program history as it faces the No. 17 Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee, Florida. The Gators had dominated this series historically but that has not been the case the last few years as the Noles have taken it to their in-state rivals. What will go down on Tuesday night? Let’s take a look at what you need to know and how you can watch Florida-FSU.

Viewing information

Event: Sunshine Showdown
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 6 | Time: 9 p.m. ET
Location: Donald L. Tucker Center — Tallahassee, Florida (Capacity: 12,100)

TV: ESPN2 (Bob Wischusen, Cory Alexander)
Live stream: WatchESPN.com | SiriusXM: 211/193 | Radio: WRUF, TuneIn

Live updates: @OnlyGators on Twitter

Tale of the tape

Prediction and analysis

Spread: Florida +4 | O/U: 149.5

It’s tough to know what to expect from the Gators in their season opener, especially considering there may be as many as three freshman seeing action over the course of the game. Florida closed the 2017-18 campaign with a whimper and saw its best players depart. That’s not to say redshirt senior wing Jalen Hudson cannot lead the Gators deep this season, it just means this team has a lot of growing to do. As a team expected to contend in the ACC, the Seminoles are on the other end of the spectrum. They have dominated this series as of late with four straight wins with the games in Tallahassee being decided by, you guessed it, an average of four points. With everything else being even, as I do believe the teams are equally talented, it makes sense to lean with the home team and the under in a game where both programs will be getting their feet wet.

2018 records: ATS picks 0-0 | O/U picks 0-0

Projected starting five

PG Andrew Nembhard, freshman (6-foot-5, 191 pounds)
G KeVaughn Allen, senior (6-foo-2, 193 pounds)
G/F Jalen Hudson, rs-senior (6-foot-6, 195 pounds)
F Keith Stone, rs-junior (6-foot-8, 253 pounds)
F/C Kevarrius Hayes, senior (6-foot-9, 227 pounds)

Game notes

» Florida is 43-26 all-time against Florida State, including 18-12 in Tallahassee. However, the Seminoles have beaten the Gators in five straight meetings dating back to 2014, the longest streak for the Noles in this series. As such, White is 0-3 against Florida State and 2-7 against the ACC.
» This is the earliest in the season that UF and FSU have faced each other in history dating back to their first meeting in 1951. It is the third time in series history that the teams are opening the season against one another (2000-01).
» The Gators have won 27 straight season openers, though only two of those have been road games (2000 at Florida State, 2015 at Navy).
» Florida is 3-3 under White in nonconference road games and 19-17 overall on the road. It is also 10-14 against AP Top 25 teams.

» Allen enters with the best free throw percentage in program history (.875). Allen is also seventh in program history in three-point attempts (553) and 10th in makes (188).
» Hayes is eighth in program history with 147 blocks, he is three away from seventh.
» Hudson and Allen were named to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team on Tuesday.