Jacksonville vs. Florida prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball

The Florida Gators start their season-opening home stand as they face Jacksonville. It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Jacksonville-Florida prediction and pick.

Jacksonville hits the road for the first time this year, after winning their opening game. Jacksonville would take a 78-65 win over NCCAA Trinity Baptist. Meanwhile, Florida is also 1-0 with a win at the Jacksonville Sports Foundation Invitational. They defeated South Florida 98-83 in that game.

This will be the 38th meeting between Jacksonville and Florida. The last match-up was in December of 2015 when Florida won the game 89-65. they have won four straight, and 13 of 14 dating back to 1997. Florida leads the all-time series 32-5.

Here are the Jacksonville-Florida College Basketball Odds , courtesy of FanDuel

College Basketball Odds: Jacksonville-Florida Odds

Jacksonville: +20.5 (-110)

Moneyline: +1600

Florida: -20.5 (-110)

Moneyline: -4500

Over: 152.5 (-110)

Under: 152.5 (-110)

How to Watch Jacksonville vs. Florida

Time: 8:00 PM ET/ 5:00 PM PT

TV: ESPN+

Stream: fuboTV ( Free Trial )

Why Jacksonville Will Cover The Spread/Win

Jacksonville was led by Stephon Payne III in the season-opening win. He scored 18 points and added 13 rebounds in the first game of the year. He also added a steal and a block. Last year, Payne was second on the team in rebounds with 6.1 per game, while scoring just 7.3 points per game last season. Meanwhile, Simon Wheeler had a solid first game. He scored just five points but added four rebounds, and a team-leading seven assists in the first game. Wheeler joins the team this year, after spending last year at Division II Ashland University.

Robert McCray V also returns for Jacksonville this year. Last year he led the team with 18.4 points per game whole, he had 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists last season. He led the team in both points and assists last year. McCray scored nine points and added two rebounds plus four assists in the first game of the year. Jacksonville rounds out the squad with guard Zach Bell. Bell was primarily a reserve last year playing in 24 games and scoring 6.3 points per game. He led the team in minutes in the first game, while scoring 11 points and adding an assist.

Why Florida Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Florida Gators will once again be led by Walter Clayton Jr. at guard. Last year, he led the team with 17.6 points per game, while he shot 36.5 percent from three. Further, he added 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Clayton scored 29 points in the season opener while adding four rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block. The Gators will need to replace Zyon Pullin, who was second on the team in points last year and led the team in assists. The Gators hope to get replacement production from Will Richard and Alijah Martin.

Richard had 11.4 points per game last year while adding 3.9 rebounds per game and 1.3 assists per game. He scored 25 in the first game of the year while adding six rebounds, two steals, and a block. He did not have an assist. Alijah Martin led the team in assists in the first game with three of them while adding six rebounds, 13 points, and four steals. Martin has spent the last four years at FAU. He scored 13.1 points per game last year, with 1.6 assists, and 5.9 rebounds for the Owls.

The Gators also need to replace Tyrese Samuel in the front court. They bring back Alex Condon to do just that. He played in 36 games last year but made just one start. In that time he scored 7.7 points per game while adding 6.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists. In his first start of the year, he went 5-6 shooting, scoring 13 points, adding five rebounds, an assist, a block, and a steal. Further, all five rebounds were on the offensive glass.

Final Jacksonville-Florida Prediction & Pick

Florida was great on defense in their first game, having eight steals and five blocks in the game. They did turn over the ball ten times though. They were also great on the offensive glass, with 11 offensive rebounds. Jacksonville won their first game but did not shoot well. They shot just 39.7 percent from the field, but scoring was aided by their 21 offensive rebounds. They did turn the ball over 12 times but allowed just seven points off turnovers. Still, shooting will be the major difference in this one. Florida will be able to dominate the boards and now allow Jacksonville to have as many second-chance points. They also shot 52.4 percent from the field. While the three-point percentage struggled, they will still score with ease in this game. Florida struggled early in their first game, at one point being down by 13 to South Florida, but as this team gels with new parts, they will begin to play much better.