Ranked SEC Foes Meet in Gainesville: Vanderbilt at Florida

Vanderbilt Commodores at Florida Gators, Stephen C. O’Connell Center, Gainesville, FL
Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 9:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN
Opening Line: Florida -3 1/2
Current Line: Florida -4 1/2
Opening Total: 139
Current Total: 140
Money Line: Florida -190 / Vanderbilt +170

Erving Walker and the Gators are 4 1/2 point favorites at home against Vanderbilt in SEC action Tuesday.

The Vanderbilt Commodores are ranked #23 or 24 in the country depending on which poll you choose. They are 15-5 overall and 3-3 in the SEC. They travel to the #23 (coaches’ poll) Florida Gators Tuesday night. Florida is 16-5 overall, and 5-2 in conference. Both Vanderbilt and Florida are coming off conference losses Saturday. Vanderbilt lost at home to Arkansas 89-78 and Florida lost at Mississippi St 71-64. Vanderbilt also has losses to West Virginia, Missouri, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Vanderbilt has wins over Nebraska, North Carolina, Marquette, Davidson, Georgia, Ole Miss, St. Mary’s CA, and Mississippi St this season. Florida has additional losses to Ohio St, Central Florida, Jacksonville, and South Carolina. The Gators have wins over Florida St, Kansas St, Xavier, Rhode Island, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Auburn, Arkansas, and Georgia. Vanderbilt leads the overall series against Florida 63-58 but Florida is 38-21 in Gainesville. The two teams have split the last 4 games, but 3 of the 4 have gone over the total. Vanderbilt won in Gainesville last March 64-60. Florida is 2-10 ATS as a favorite this year.

Vanderbilt forward Lance Goulbourne is listed as probable versus Florida with an ankle injury. Goulbourne averages 8.3 points and 7.9 rebounds to lead the team, and 1.5 assists. Vanderbilt is outscoring opponents 79-67 on the season. The Commodores are shooting 46.3% from the field and 37.4% from three point range. Vanderbilt is holding opponents to 39.6% shooting from the field. Vanderbilt is shooting 74.7% from the free throw line. Sophomore guard John Jenkins leads the Commodores in scoring with 19.1 ppg. He also averages 3.2 rebounds a game and is shooting 41.5% from 3-point range. Forward Jeffery Taylor averages 15.2 ppg, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and leads the team in steals with 0.9 a game. Center Festus Ezeli averages 13 points, 6.2 rebounds, and leads the team in blocks with 2.4 a game. Point guard Brad Tinsley averages 10.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists to lead the team, and 0,9 steals a game to lead the team.Vanderbilt averages 39 rebounds and has a rebounding margin of +4.2. They average 14.1 assists and 14.4 turnovers a game. Vanderbilt forces 12.8 turnovers a game on defense. The Commodores average 5.5 steals and 5.3 blocks a game.

Florida has no significant injuries right now. The Gators are led by guard Erving Walker. He is averaging 14.4 points to lead the team, 3.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.2 steals a game to lead the team. He is shooting 39.5% from 3-point range. Guard Kenny Boynton is averaging 13 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists a game. Center Vernon Macklin is averaging 11.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and leads the team in blocks with 1 a game. He struggles from the free throw line converting only 22 out of 55 on the year, or 40%. Forward Chandler Parsons averages 10.3 points, 7.3 rebounds to lead the team, 3.6 assists a game and 1 steal a game. Florida is outscoring opponents 71-62 on the season. The Gators are shooting 45.8% from the field and 33.7% from 3-point range. Gator opponents are shooting 41.3% from the field. The Gators shoot 65.3% from the free throw line. Florida averages 38.8 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of +6.8. They average 14.1 assists and 12.8 turnovers a game. The Gators force 13.2 turnovers a game on defense. Florida averages 6.3 steals and 4.1 blocks a game.

Neither of these teams have lost 2 games in a row all season. The loser of this game will do just that. Both are pretty good at rebounding but Florida is the better defending team. Both of these teams need a win in the parity driven SEC. It should be a close game between teams that are a little inconsistent.