Florida vs Iona 3/16/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Iona Gaels (25-7) vs. Florida Gators (19-13)
March 16, 2022 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Florida Gators -6.5 / Iona Gaels +6.5; Over/Under: +146
(Get latest betting odds)
The Iona Gaels and Florida Gators meet Wednesday in the college basketball NIT First Round at the Exactech Arena. The Iona Gaels look for a win after winning six of their last eight games. The Florida Gators look for a win after splitting their last 10 games.
The Iona Gaels are averaging 75.4 points on 44.6 percent shooting and allowing 68.2 points on 41.1 percent shooting. Tyson Jolly is averaging 14.6 points and 4.8 rebounds, while Nelly Junior Joseph is averaging 12.9 points and 8.1 rebounds. Elijah Joiner is the third double-digit scorer and Quinn Slazinksi is grabbing 3.2 rebounds. The Iona Gaels are shooting 33 percent from beyond the arc and 69.7 percent from the free throw line. The Iona Gaels are allowing 29.9 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 34.6 rebounds per game.
The Florida Gators are averaging 70.5 points on 42.8 percent shooting and allowing 65.5 points on 43.8 percent shooting. Colin Castleton is averaging 16.3 points and 9 rebounds, while Phlandrous Fleming Jr. is averaging 10.9 points and 4.3 rebounds. Tyree Appleby is the third double-digit scorer and Myreon Jones is grabbing 2.7 rebounds. The Florida Gators are shooting 31.1 percent from beyond the arc and 73.4 percent from the free throw line. The Florida Gators are allowing 32.1 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 29.8 rebounds per game.
The Gaels are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road games and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Gators are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games and 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games overall. The under is 7-2 in Gaels last 9 overall. The over is 4-1 in Gators last 5 overall.
I’m not thrilled to lay chalk with the Florida Gators, given that they’ve been hit or miss all year and currently don’t have a head coach. Florida could easily fold and start preparing for an off season. With that said, Florida is still the comfortably more talented team here, and it wins at home by an average of 9.4 points while getting after it defensively. Assuming Florida can find some sort of motivation, it should get the job done here.
