Florida vs Auburn Odds & Picks: Gators Struggle To Cover Against Ranked Teams

Ranked No. 1 in the country and winners of 14 in a row, the Auburn Tigers have proven the class of the nation’s toughest basketball conference so far. Now another SEC heavyweight arrives to try and take down Auburn within its raucous home arena—the sixth-ranked Florida Gators, who are a 9.5-point road underdog for Saturday’s game.

If you’re thinking that’s a big spread for a top-10 matchup, you’re right—and it’s likely due to the fact that point guard Walter Clayton Jr., Florida’s leading scorer at 17.4 points per game and the quarterback of the Gators’ high-scoring offense, missed UF’s last game with an ankle injury suffered three days earlier in a loss at Tennessee. Clayton’s status for Saturday at Auburn remains uncertain. 

Florida vs Auburn Odds Today

Matchup Page: Florida Vs Auburn, 4:00 PM ET

Odds as of February 7 at Sportsbook

Florida vs Auburn Today

Auburn -9.5 (-105) & OVER 155.5 (-110) at Sportsbook

Led by national Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome, Auburn (21-1 outright) is a long, tall, deep squad with seven players who see serious minutes and five double-digit scorers. While the Tigers are winning by an average margin of 18.5 points per game, third-largest nationally, they’ve been rather hit or miss from an ATS standpoint, failing to cover in six of their first seven SEC games before checking off three in a row.

Florida (19-3) owns a cover rate of 68.2 percent that’s the best in the SEC, according to data at TeamRankings.com. The Gators covered eight straight games before entering conference play, where they’ve beaten the spread in five of nine contests thus far. Florida is 1-2 both ATS and outright against ranked opponents, with both those losses coming away from home.

It all boils down to whether Florida can cover that number even if Clayton doesn’t play. He suffered the injury late in the first half of a game at Tennessee that turned into a blowout after he exited. With Clayton sidelined, Will Richard and Alex Condon scored 21 and 19 respectively to lead the Gators to a home cover over Vanderbilt—which isn’t exactly top-ranked Auburn, within the crazed confines of Neville Arena.

Both these teams can fill it up—Auburn and Florida stand second and third respectively in the SEC in scoring offense, with the Tigers’ attack ranked seventh nationally. Auburn has gone OVER in three straight and five of its last eight, dropping 90 on its last two opponents. Florida goes eight deep and has the horses to keep pace, even if Clayton is missing or playing hurt.

Florida vs Auburn News

Clayton isn’t the only Florida player who’s banged up—starting shooting guard Alijah Martin tweaked his hip in the first half Tuesday against Vanderbilt, according to the Associated Press, and while he returned to the game he managed only eight points on the night. Auburn has no injuries to report.

Florida vs Auburn Betting Trends