College Basketball Odds: Richmond vs. No. 13 Florida

Bettors may find value in the Richmond Spiders in this one against the Florida Gators.

The No. 13 Florida Gators are on upset alert Saturday night in an Orange Bowl Classic matchup in Sunrise, Fla., against Richmond, which might be good underdog value on Bodog’s college basketball odds.

The Atlantic 10’s Spiders (7-3, 4-2 ATS) have beaten likely NCAA Tournament teams Missouri and Mississippi State but enter off back-to-back losses, the last an 18-point setback Wednesday to South Carolina. Four starters are back from last season’s 20-win team, and a win here would be a huge boost to the Spiders’ NCAA Tournament resume.

Richmond plays slow with its Princeton-type offense. For example, the Spiders allowed 13 fast-break points in the loss to South Carolina, the first time this season they have allowed more than four. Entering the week, Richmond, which has led by nine points in every game so far, was in the Top 30 in the nation in scoring defense but just No. 190 in scoring offense.

Florida (8-1, 4-2 ATS), which hasn’t played since losing to Syracuse on Dec. 10, has only six totally healthy scholarship players. Second-leading scorer Chandler Parsons (12 ppg, 6.1 rpg) has missed several days of practice with a torn leg muscle but should play Saturday.

When making your college basketball bet here, know that UF’s strength so far this year has been 3-point defense, as the Gators rank No. 1 in the country by allowing opponents to hit just 21.5 percent of their 3-pointers. Richmond is not a great 3-point shooting team. Also look for UF freshman guard Kenny Boynton, the Gators’ leading scorer (14.6 ppg), to have a big night as he is a South Florida native and this should be his only chance to play back at home this season. Boynton has just one turnover and is averaging seven assists the past three games.

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