Kentucky vs Florida Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for February 22 (Can the Wildcats Lengthen the Gators' Slide?)

Kentucky vs Florida Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for February 22 (Can the Wildcats Lengthen the Gators' Slide?)

Updated:

Kentucky vs Florida Game Info

  • 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Regular Season Game
  • Kentucky (18-9, 9-5 SEC) vs. Florida (14-13, 7-7 SEC)
  • Date: Wednesday, February 22, 2023
  • Time: 7:00 PM ET
  • Venue: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center -- Gainesville, Florida
  • Coverage: ESPN

Two SEC college basketball teams heading in opposite directions collide on Wednesday, Feb. 22 as the Kentucky Wildcats go head-to-head against the Florida Gators.

Kentucky has a pep in its step following an impressive 66-54 win over ranked Tennessee on Saturday. Meanwhile, Florida has dropped four of its last outings following an 84-65 blowout loss to Arkansas.

Can Kentucky push its winning streak to three straight games? Or will Florida find a way to send the crowd home happy?

Kentucky vs Florida Odds & Spread

Kentucky enters this contest as the slight home favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 7 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 139.5 points with both sides sitting at -110 odds.

Kentucky vs Florida Betting Trends

  • Kentucky's record against the spread is 13-14-0.
  • The Wildcats have an ATS record of 10-10 as 3.5-point favorites or more.
  • There have been 17 Kentucky's games (out of 27) that went over the total this season.
  • Florida's record against the spread is 13-14-0.
  • Against the spread as 3.5-point underdogs or more, the Gators are 3-5.
  • Out of Florida's 27 games so far this season, 12 have gone over the total.
Kentucky Rank Kentucky AVG Florida AVG Florida Rank
120th 74.3 Points Scored 71.6 178th
107th 67.5 Points Allowed 67.6 114th
25th 35.5 Rebounds 32.5 141st
9th 11.6 Off. Rebounds 7.2 289th
262nd 6.6 3pt Made 6.5 274th
25th 15.8 Assists 12.2 257th
46th 10.6 Turnovers 10.7 52nd

Kentucky vs Florida Prediction & Pick

Nothing is going right for Florida during its current skid. The offense is struggling to find consistency, mustering fewer than 70 points in three of the last five games. The defense hasn't been much better, surrendering 81.0 PPG over that stretch.

I can see Florida struggling to find offensive success against a Kentucky defense that yields just 67.5 PPG (No. 93) — especially after holding Tennessee to just 54 points. The Wildcats also have the advantage in the paint where they average 38.3 rebounds (No. 21). For comparison, the Gators average 35.4 RPG (T-No. 119), but that number has dropped to 30.3 over the last three games.

Furthermore, Kentucky has won 71.4% of games where it has been the favorite this season, whereas Florida only has a 20% winning percentage as the underdog. It'll likely be a competitive battle, but I like the Wildcats' chances of winning on the road.

Final Score Prediction: Kentucky: 72 | Florida: 69

Kentucky vs Florida Best Bet

When it comes to the best bet, taking the over on the 139.5-point total is the right move. After all, the over has been hit in six of Kentucky's last seven games, as well as in five of its last six against SEC foes. The over is also 5-0 in Florida's last five outings while also being hit in six of the Gators' last seven conference contests.

The recipe is here for more points than oddsmakers project.

Bet: Over 139.5 Points (-110)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.