Pete Maravich Assembly Center – Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Tip-off: Saturday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Line: N/A

The Gators look to get back over .500 with a win in Baton Rouge over LSU Saturday.

Florida is coming off of a 50-47 win over Vanderbilt as a 5-point home favorite on Wednesday. It was the Gators’ first victory in five games and they are now 2-4 ATS in their past six as well. This Florida offense is miserable, failing to score 70+ in seven straight games. They rarely ever come through with a great performance on that end of the floor, so they’ll need to play excellent defense against LSU. The Tigers, meanwhile, are coming off of a 68-62 loss as 2.5-point underdogs at Texas A&M on Tuesday. LSU beat the Gators in Florida earlier in the season, winning 79-61 as an 11-point road underdog. Prior to that win for the Tigers, Florida had won six straight games SU against LSU. The Gators have won in their last two games at Pete Maravich Assembly Center, but they have failed to cover in three of their past four games in Baton Rouge. The Gators are just 6-7 SU and ATS versus SEC opponents this season, and they’re also a lousy 2-7-2 ATS when coming off of a SU win. LSU, meanwhile, is 7-6 SU and 7-5-1 ATS versus the SEC this season and 6-1 SU and 4-1-1 ATS when coming off of a SU loss. G Michael Frazier II (Ankle), F Dorian Finney-Smith (Suspension), G Dillon Graham (Personal), C John Egbunu (Eligibility), G Brandone Francis (Academics) and G DeVon Walker (Knee) are all out indefinitely or for the season. LSU is not currently dealing with any injuries.

Florida barely came away with a home victory over Vanderbilt on Wednesday, but they’ll still be satisfied to come away from that night at .500. At this point in the year, the Gators are playing for NIT eligibility and it will be tough with off the court problems derailing this team. Florida has been horrible offensively this season, averaging just 64.8 PPG (242nd in NCAA) on 43.7% shooting (174th in NCAA). They don’t have many scoring options and where they are able to give teams trouble is on the defensive end. The Gators allow just 59.4 PPG (23rd in NCAA) and do so by getting into the passing lanes, averaging 7.6 SPG (51st in NCAA). With the team depleted by injuries, F Devin Robinson (5.9 PPG, 2.7 RPG) is a guy who will really need to play well. Robinson had 12 points and six rebounds against Vanderbilt, but he has been very inconsistent recently. After a 14-point performance against Ole Miss three games ago, Robinson was in foul trouble and didn’t score a point against Texas A&M the following game. He’ll need to find a way to stay on the court and provide some offense for this team. G Kasey Hill (7.2 PPG, 4.5 APG) will also need to play well going forward. Hill had just three points and five assists in 30 minutes against Vanderbilt and that followed up a game in which he had no points and 10 assists in a win over Texas A&M. While his distributing has been excellent, the team needs him to start finding the bottom of the net. C Jon Horford (6.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG) is one of the few starters who is still playing for Florida at this point in the season. He had just four points and three rebounds against LSU in the last meeting between these teams and will need to play well defensively against what is a dominant frontcourt for the Tigers. G Eli Carter (8.6 PPG) followed up a 22-point performance against A&M with just six points (2-for-9 FG, 0-for-5 3PT) against Vanderbilt. Carter has been miserable from behind the arc this season (30% FG), but he is a better shooter than his stats give him credit for. He’ll need to start making some shots for this team if they are going to find themselves playing in any respectable postseason tournament this year.

The Tigers have one of the better offenses in the nation, scoring 73.7 PPG (42nd in NCAA) on 45.7% shooting (76th in NCAA). Defensively, however, they have struggled in allowing 67.3 PPG (203rd in NCAA) despite 6.4 BPG (6th in NCAA) and 7.5 SPG (53rd in NCAA). The Tigers have a very winnable game against Florida in this one and have a great chance to regroup after their loss to Texas A&M. F Jarrell Martin (15.8 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.2 SPG) has been one of the most consistent players for this LSU team this year. Martin fouled out against Texas A&M, but he had 13 points and six rebounds before exiting and had 22 points in a win over Florida early in the season. If he can stay out of foul trouble, he should be able to really hurt the Gators with his ability to score both from midrange and around the basket. F Jordan Mickey (16.7 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.8 BPG) was awful against Texas A&M last game, finishing with just six points and four rebounds in 34 minutes. He did, however, dominate Florida in their last meeting with 14 points, 14 rebounds and three assists in 35 minutes. Jon Horford has size inside, but he doesn’t have the speed or athleticism to really guard Mickey. The Tigers will need to feed him the ball often in this game. G Tim Quarterman (11.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.4 SPG) is a guy that can really fill up the stat sheet. He had 15 points, eight assists, five rebounds and a steal against the Gators last meeting and his length at the guard position really gave Florida issues. He’ll need to keep attacking the rim and getting into passing lanes for this team. G Keith Hornsby (12.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.2 SPG) is LSU’s best shooter from behind the arc (37% 3PT). He had 15 points (6-for-12 FG, 3-for-6 3PT) and two steals against Florida last meeting and will need to knock down his open shots in this one as well.