College Basketball Betting: Florida at No. 14 Tennessee

Super freshman Kenny Boynton and Coach Billy Donovan have led the Gators to four victories in a row, but UF rarely wins in Knoxville. (AP Images)

The fact that Tennessee had been playing so well without arguably its best player, Tyler Smith, who was suspended for the season back in early January, is admirable for the Vols. But the loss of Smith appears to be catching up to UT as it is on a two-game losing streak heading into Sunday’s game with Florida – get your college basketball odds on this game at Bodog.

Smith led the Vols in assists and was second in scoring in rebounding when he was booted from the team. Yet UT (15-4, 8-7-1 ATS) had won seven in a row overall before losing at Georgia last Saturday – the Dawgs’ first SEC win – and then against Vanderbilt on Wednesday for the Vols’ first home loss of the year. Tennessee’s lack of depth is beginning to show, as both Georgia and Vandy shot better than 50 percent from the field. Other than Scotty Hopson (13.8 ppg) and Wayne Chism (11.6 ppg), UT has little offensive firepower so it has to be good defensively.

Florida (15-5, 8-7 ATS), meanwhile, opened SEC play with back-to-back losses but has since won four in a row – three of those coming at home – and has really only been challenged in one of them. The key has been that the Gators have found a third offensive option to go with guards Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker. That third guy has been Alex Tyus, who has scored in double figures in his last 11 games and is averaging 14.8 points a game in that stretch. Tyus had 23 points in a win over Georgia on Wednesday, while Boynton and Walker both had 21 – that’s the first time three Gators scored 20-plus points in a game since December 2000.

However, when making your college basketball bet on this game, know that the Vols have tormented Billy Donovan and the Gators in recent years. UT has won five straight and 10 of the past 13 against Florida, including a sweep last year. Tennessee also is 23-4 in its past 27 home SEC games overall and has won four in a row over the Gators in Knoxville.

The best place for SEC college basketball props? That’s easy: Bodog.