It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a South Carolina-Florida prediction and pick. Find out how to watch South Carolina Florida.
The Florida Gators are very much in the hunt for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. This has been a really good week for them, given that they followed up their win at No. 1 Auburn with another road SEC win at Mississippi State, all while Tennessee — a team in contention for a No. 1 seed — lost to Kentucky. Florida should be on the top line right now in a hypothetical NCAA Tournament seed list. It's hard to imagine Tennessee deserving the top seed more than UF at this very moment. This is not a prediction for March Madness or Selection Sunday, to be very clear about it. Tennessee might very well outplay Florida over the next month and earn a top seed instead of the Gators. However, at this moment — entering play on February 15 — Florida should be rated higher than the Vols. Now let's see if Florida can make this advantage stand up over the next several weeks before the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed.
South Carolina: +16.5 (-110)
Moneyline: +1100
Florida: -16.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -2500
Over: 143.5 (-110)
Under: 143.5 (-110)
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT
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TV: SEC Network
South Carolina is viewed by a lot of commentators and analysts as the best bad team in the country. This is because the SEC is so deep from teams 1-14 (LSU being the 15th) that when the Gamecocks take the floor, they have less talent than the opponent sitting across the way. If the SEC wasn't so historically great this season, with 14 teams having a shot at an NCAA Tournament berth and 12 teams being likely to get into the field, South Carolina would have several more wins than it does. The Gamecocks just happen to be holding the short straw as the team which is just a little less talented than every SEC opponent. Next year, the SEC won't be as good as it is in 2025. South Carolina will be better then. The Gamecocks aren't terrible; it just seems that way because of the SEC's quality and depth. The Gamecocks won't beat Florida outright, but they can definitely keep this game closer than 16.5 points.
Some would say South Carolina isn't even a bad team to begin with, but let's be real: When a team is winless in conference play, as the Gamecocks are right now, it is hard to say they're merely an average team. Would they do better if they played in the Mountain West? Probably, but would they be better to the extent that they would be in the hunt for an NCAA bid? Probably not. Let's not twist our logic here and think South Carolina is good. The Gamecocks aren't awful, but they're not a quality team. They're below-average and are in position to get absolutely dump-trucked by a Florida team which is making a compelling case for a No. 1 seed this year.
Florida is a better team, playing at home, against an opponent which is probably going to run out of gas — and belief — before too long. Take Florida.
