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Florida ATS Pick vs Visiting East Carolina

· Dec 14 - 4 minutes read

East Carolina has been untested this season and will face a different level of talent in this matchup with Florida. While Florida has the talent advantage, it has not exactly played like one of the top teams, opening the door for opinions in NCAAB odds and predictions.

In the Pirates’ last game, they faced South Carolina, an SEC rival of Florida, and lost 68-62. The Gators picked up an 87-76 win over Richmond, taking another step in the right direction.

Florida ATS Pick vs Visiting East Carolina

East Carolina Faces Another Daunting Test

Before facing Florida, East Carolina got its first test against a top opponent, matched up against another SEC team in South Carolina. The Pirates would lose that game at home, but it was their first matchup against an opponent from a power conference.

East Carolina had yet to play a team from one of the top conferences and it did not back down while facing South Carolina. RJ Felton led the team in scoring with 15 points, just below his season average of 16.2. Ezra Ausar and Bobby Pettiford Jr. had solid games with 14 each, which helped keep the game competitive.

The college basketball spread for this game was only set at five points, which the Pirates almost covered. That was helped by a strong second half in which East Carolina outscored South Carolina 34-33. However, that was not enough for the Pirates to overcome losing the first half 35-28.

While playing another SEC opponent should help East Carolina be more prepared for Florida, college basketball odds think otherwise. Florida is playing well, and this will only be the second game on the road for East Carolina, which could prove to be an issue.

Florida Wins, Fails to Cover in Two Straight

After losing two straight to a ranked Baylor team and Wake Forest, Florida has now won back-to-back games. The Gators beat Merrimack 77-57 before beating Richmond. Both wins were against teams in lesser conferences, helping them get back on track to face East Carolina.

Despite the two controlling wins for the Gators, they did not cover college basketball lines in either. The line against Merrimack was 21½ points, and Florida only won by 20. The Gators got a big game from Walter Clayton Jr, who scored 26 points, helping them go on a 20-0 run in the second half to blow the game wide open. Merrimack went into halftime up 31-30 over Florida.

Something similar happened in the win over Richmond. Even though Florida was up 40-30 at halftime, the game’s eventual leading sorcerer, Will Richard, only had two points in the opening 20 minutes. In the second half, he would score 19 to get his total to 21 points, helping Florida keep a commanding lead and winning the game. However, the Gators did not cover an 11-point spread, forcing a push.

Florida could be an option in college basketball picks because of the offensive talent on the roster. Over the last five games, three players – Clayton, Richard, and Riley Kugel – have led the team in scoring, going over 20 points.

East Carolina vs Florida Best Bet

Florida is the better team in this matchup and should be able to beat East Carolina. However, the question to make it the best NCAAB bet is if the Gators can cover a sizable spread.

Reluctantly, it seems like Florida has a chance to cover this spread. East Carolina hasn’t done much to prove it can keep it close with Florida, which has failed to cover a spread in the last four games.

College Basketball Best Bet: Florida (-15) -110

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