Subscribe
Follow Us
The Florida Gators take on the Oklahoma Sooners in Charlotte. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Florida Oklahoma prediction and pick.
The Florida Gators are six weeks into a new era. Coach Todd Golden took over from previous coach Mike White, who went to Georgia to start fresh in his coaching career. Golden came to Gainesville from the University of San Francisco, where he led the Dons to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1998. Golden embraces modern basketball analytics, which is part of why he was hired, but the measure of his tenure at Florida will be his ability to reclaim the Billy Donovan standard the program once had. That will be achieved with recruiting more than anything else. While we wait to see how well Golden can recruit, we are getting a taste of how well Golden can coach. SEC competition hasn't yet begun, but in nonconference play, Florida's results have been mixed. The Gators got blown out by West Virginia and UConn. They were competitive in a narrow loss to Xavier. They handled their business against Florida State and Oregon State. They did, however, lose to Florida Atlantic, a blot on their portfolio. They could really use a win over Oklahoma in this neutral-site game in North Carolina. It's way too early to judge Golden, who definitely deserves a grace period this season.
Oklahoma has had a similarly mixed record in the early stages of its season. The good news is that the Sooners beat Ole Miss, Seton Hall, an and Nebraska while giving Arkansas a good battle. The bad news is that they lost at home to Sam Houston State and also fell to a not-very-good Villanova team which has had a terrible start to its season. Oklahoma coach Porter Moser, who came to the Sooners last year from Loyola Chicago, has a task similar to Golden at Florida. He needs to bring in the recruits who not only fit his system, but have high-end talent which can change the equation.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Florida-Oklahoma College Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: Florida-Oklahoma Odds
Florida Gators: -3.5 (-102)
Oklahoma Sooners: +3.5 (-120)
Over: 133.5 (-110)
Under: 133.5 (-110)
Article Continues Below
Why Florida Could Cover the Spread
The best case to make for either team is to note how flawed the opponent is. Florida is not especially impressive, but Oklahoma is noticeably vulnerable. The home-court loss to Sam Houston State was one indicator. Failing to beat a weak Villanova team is another sign of OU's limitations. The Sooners barely beat an Ole Miss team which just lost at home to North Alabama earlier on Tuesday. Oklahoma simply doesn't have the skill level to make Porter Moser's vision come alive. Moser's Loyola teams were not supremely dynamic, but they were well-schooled on defense and could thwart the opposition. However, when they had one or two really special players through which they could run their offense, they became special and reached a high ceiling, particularly the 2018 Final Four team at Loyola. This Oklahoma roster doesn't have that special player, which leaves the Sooners shorthanded and lacking an edge late in close games. Florida can take advantage of that and win this game by several points.
Why Oklahoma Could Cover the Spread
The case for the Sooners covering the spread is the case against Florida. Porter Moser coaches defense as well as any coach in the country, but he needs to go up against opponents with noticeable offensive flaws. Florida is just such a team. The Gators were throttled by West Virginia and UConn, scoring under 56 points in each game. The Gators remain dependent on big man Colin Castleton. Last season's team under previous coach Mike White needed Castleton's production in virtually every game. If Florida does not get elite numbers or an impactful performance from Castleton, its limitations are magnified and its path to victory becomes much more narrow. Oklahoma might not be able to score consistently, but it can take away Castleton and force other Gators to beat the Sooners. Florida doesn't yet have the Plan B to beat Oklahoma.
Final Florida-Oklahoma Prediction & Pick
This game is one you should stay away from, since both teams are unreliable and have major weaknesses. Just learn about these two teams and see what you can gather for a future betting play involving these teams later in the season.
Final Florida-Oklahoma Prediction & Pick: Oklahoma +3.5
